Given that the serving officers of the Inter-Services Intelligence may have financed and directed the 2008 Mumbai attack (editorial “Rana trial and beyond,” May 26), how can we expect Pakistan to bring its perpetrators to justice? But we do have in our custody one of the terrorists who killed 164 innocent people in cold blood. Are we waiting for jihadists to hijack a plane filled with passengers to escort Ajmal Kasab to a safe den?
C.V. Sukumaran,
Palakkad
David Headley's testimony in the trial of co-accused Tawahhur Rana in a Chicago court is not the least startling. The nexus between the ISI and outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba is well known. So is the agency's involvement in the Mumbai attack. But Headley's deposition and the report that the U.S. had information of his complicity much before it actually nabbed him raise credible doubts about his being a double agent. It would also be naive to expect the U.S. to take any substantive action against the ISI. India is the key bargaining point for the Pakistani military and intelligence, which provide logistics to the U.S. on the condition that they get leverage in handling the ‘threat' on the Kashmir front.
Kamolini Ghosh,
Kolkata
Long before Headley disclosed the ISI-terror link, the international community was aware that Pakistan was the breeding place of terror against India. It was also clear that the terror outfits of Pakistan enjoyed the patronage of the state. The restraint shown by India in the face of an undeclared war is commendable. Given the vastness of our country and our staggering population, the security agencies and defence forces have been doing a splendid job of containing the attempts of terrorists to strike against us. Once the internal turmoil in Pakistan dies down, we may find an amicable solution to long-standing problems through dialogue.
S.S. Varadarajan,
Palakkad
Whether the Rana trial does justice to the Mumbai terror victims or not, documentary evidence like e-mails adduced by the prosecutors in Chicago has exposed the hollowness of Pakistan's claim that the ISI is an embodiment of innocence and that India is making unfounded charges against it. The international community should ponder over Pakistan's hypocrisy of waging a war against terror groups while using them when it needs them.
Chandran Dharmalingam,
The Nilgiris
At least now, Pakistan should see that all evidence is against it. The killing of bin Laden at a stone's throw away from its military academy, the documents obtained from Headley, and his testimony — all point to conspiracies hatched on its soil with the ISI's help. It should put an end to terrorism once and for all. It is an uphill task but it is the need of the hour.
Shriyaa Mittal,
Noida
