In what can only described as a seminal shift Pakistan has for the first time admitted that the Mumbai terror attacks were partly planned on its soil.
"This is an individual act, act of individuals or non-state actors. Their purpose is to create terror for their own motives. These motives need to be determined. Both India and Pakistan need to work it out,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, adding, "A part of the conspiracy has been done in Pakistan.”
While the admission is remarkable in itself, it is impossible to say whether it would lead to a fundamental review and reform of the way terrorism and terror groups are treated in Pakistan. It is vitally important that India applauds Pakistan for showing the strength to admit to the terror attack’s Pakistani origin.
Going by Malik’s comments about the full scope of the investigation it appears that the Pakistani response has been much more than window dressing. Whether the Pakistani establishment is driven by expediency or genuine concern for its own stability, Islamabad has at least managed to emerge from a state of denial about the Mumbai attacks.
Of course, Malik has taken care to see that his comments in no way mean that any elements of the Pakistani state were involved in the planning and execution of the attacks. It is well known that the Pakistani intelligence had fostered the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group widely believed to be behind the attacks. The LeT is now being viewed by the western intelligence agencies as second only to Al-Qaeda in its ability to launch attacks on Western targets.
It would be unrealistic to expect any Pakistani leader to make a connection between the intelligence agencies and the LeT. From New Delhi’s standpoint it is crucial that Islamabad takes the investigation of those behind the Mumbai attacks to its logical end. This offers a great opportunity to purge the system of those whose aims are clearly in conflict with those of Pakistan’s civil society.
While it is always possible that out of reasons of expediency the Pakistani state has decided to throw the Mumbai attackers under the bus but it would help not to take a cynical view of the admission. Given the way the establishment is structured and run, even this admission must have come after a great deal of ferment.