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By Mahendra Ved
MUMBAI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has earned the odium of his political opponents and security experts who have not approved of his move to ask for a visit here by the chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the wake of this week's terror attacks.
His move has been termed "unorthodox" and "a gamble" by those who point out that the joint mechanism for sharing intelligence and terror-related information between the two South Asian neighbours, begun earlier this year, has not worked.
The ISI will now be sending a representative instead of its head, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha.
Manmohan's principal critic, opposition leader L.K. Advani, has constantly harped on the government for being "soft" on terror.
Allusions of ISI's involvement have come forth yet again with reports that the terrorist group had come from Pakistan with two of them being British nationals of Pakistani heritage. Public sentiment and anger has been venting against the ISI and Pakistan.
For Manmohan, the Congress Party and the United Progressive Alliance, this is a politically trying time with elections in five key states now under way and a general election expected early next year. The Indian distrust of Pakistani claims, denials and condemnations of terrorism is a long South Asian story and has resurfaced after the Mumbai mayhem.
While the hotels and other places have been freed of terrorists, it is quite clear that the 60-hour siege will continue to generate tension on the diplomatic and political front.
Meanwhile, a Reuters report said Pakistan which has denied any role in the Mumbai attacks warned New Delhi not to "over-react" and pledged action against any group found to be involved.
"Whoever is responsible for the brutal and crude attack against the Indian people and India are looking for reaction," Pakistan President Asif Ali zardari said in an interview with Indian CNN-IBN television.
A senior Pakistani security official said Pakistan would divert troops to its border with India if tensions erupt in the wake of the attacks on Mumbai. The next two days would prove crucial to relations between the nuclear-armed rivals, a second official said, after India blamed "elements" from Pakistan for the coordinated assault on its financial capital that killed 195 people.
"If something happens on that front, the war on terror won't be our priority," the senior security officer told journalists at a briefing.
"We'll take out everything from the western border. We won't leave anything there."
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