The first indication of Pakistani rulers' belligerence was provided by their anti-India utterances during the past few weeks. But the strident language Pakistani Foreign Secretary used at his Press Conference after his meeting with the Indian Foreign Secretary on February 25 showed that it was meant not only for consumption of Pakistani audiences but also to counter New Delhi's stand to focus on Pakistan's role in promoting terrorism in India.

Pakistan counters the terror-promotion charge by denying its hand in terrorist actions India has been witnessing. No doubt, Pakistan is also facing fast spreading terrorist activities. But its claim of fighting terrorism shows it has adopted double standards on the issue. Yes, it is fighting terrorists but they belong to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the home-based outfit. On the other hand, it sponsored and is helping terrorists in Kashmir and other parts of India.

There is now no doubt that Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba, the protégé of Pakistan Army and ISI, is mainly behind the terror actions in India. New Delhi's charge that LeT was not only behind 2008 Mumbai attacks but was also responsible for the latest attack on Indian Guest Houses in Kabul and other places has been globally supported. Even America's Afg-Pak Ambassador who initially claimed that Taliban were behind the Kabul attack later retracted saying that it was the handiwork of LeT.

What is more significant is the stand of American lawmakers on the issue. On Thursday, they urged Obama Administration to press Islamabad to crack down against Lashkar-e-Toiba. Gary Ackerman, chairman of the US House subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, said: “This group of savages needs to be crushed. The LeT is a deadly serious group of fanatics. They are well-financed, ambitious and, most disturbingly, both tolerated by and the connected to the Pakistani military.” List Curtis of Heritage Foundation articulately exposed Washington's 'soft' attitude towards Pakistan. She said US officials have shied away from pressuring Pakistan on the LeT in the interest of securing its cooperation against targets the US believed were more critical to immediate US objectives.

Those who stress the need to fight the spreading terrorist menace not only in Afghan-Pak-India region but also in other parts of the world have, however, not paid due attention to eliminate the causes that create and groom terrorists. It is indoctrination of the young minds that make them terrorists. They are taught that by killing non-believers they would serve Islam and achieve martyrdom. No serious and concerted efforts have been made to disband and demolish the indoctrinairing centres. In fact, it is Pakistan and the US who had created such centres which produced jihadis in the eighties to fight the Soviet forces in Afghanistan and later helpted Taliban to assume power in Afghanistan. The consequences of their doings are now being faced by them and other nations. Other important factors behind the sustenance and spread of terrorism are the failure to plug the terrorists sources of finance and arms.

In the backdrop of US lawmakers views, there is no need to speculate why the US Administration is not too invisibly pressurizing India to resolve the Kashmir issue by resuming the suspended talks. There are no two opinions that normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan is imperative for peace in the region. This needs to be done through talks to resolve the long-pending issues, including Kashmir. But when one side plays a dubious role in which it is backed by its foreign mentor for its own partisan objectives, there are bound to be roadblocks in the way of finding a solution.

Although the present Pakistani rulers stress the need to resolve the Kashmir issue, their actions betray their contentions. They have deviated from Pervez Musharraf's four-point formula for solving the Kashmir problem. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Musharraf were trying to narrow their differences to evolve a formula acceptable to both countries. It is true that the task was not easy. But both sides were at least ostensibly serious in trying to find a viable solution. The present Pakistani rulers have taken a U-turn from the four-point formula.

Pakistani rulers' changed stand is also indicated by their renewed pitch for the right to self-determination for Kashmiris. This has reportedly been opposed by the moderate Hurriyat leaders who continue to see Pervez Musharraf's four-point formula as the “most pragmatic solution to the Kashmir dispute”. Upset over this “unilateral turnaround” by Pakistan, two important moderate leaders Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat and Bilal Gani Lone are said to have opted out of the upcoming visit of separatists to Islamabad.

Another indication of Pakistan's changed stance on Kashmir is its invitation to hardliner separatist leaders for a forthcoming visit to Pakistan. These include Dukhtaran-e-Millet leader Siya Andrabi and Syed Ali Shah Geelani whom the invite addresses as “Hurriyat chairman”. During Mushaffar-Manmohan Singh peace talks, these hardliner pro-Pakistani Hurriyat leaders were sidelined by the Musharraf establishment.

Developments of the past few weeks show that the present Pakistani rulers while projecting themselves as peace-seekers are pursuing the “offence is the best defence” policy. In the light of these developments New Delhi will have to re-adjust its approach on Kashmir issue as also its attitude toward the present Pakistani rulers. (IPA Service)