Washington: Another major terrorist attack in India of the magnitude similar to the 26/11 strike originating from Pakistan could easily escalate into a regional war, scholars, former diplomats and US officials have warned ahead of the 10th anniversary of the deadly Mumbai terror attack.
166 people, including Americans, were killed in the attack carried out by ten Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists.
Nine of the attackers were killed by police while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was captured and hanged after handed down death sentence by an Indian court.
Perpetrators of the 26/11 attack, including its mastermind and banned Jamat-ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, continue to roam freely in Pakistan, indicating that Islamabad is not serious in bringing them to justice.
The JuD is believed to be the front group for the LeT. The US has offered a USD 10 million bounty for Saeed.
The 26/11 attack case has entered into the 10th year but none of its seven suspects in Pakistan has been punished yet, showing that the case had never been in its priority list.
“The victims of 26/11 have yet to see the masterminds of the attack in the LeT and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) face justice; unfortunately, that is virtually impossible in Pakistan,” former CIA official Bruce Riedel told PTI.
Riedel, senior fellow and director of Brookings Intelligence Project, believes that another terror attack in India of similar magnitude would result in a war between the two countries.
“If another attack of this magnitude occurs, there will be war,” he said.
Pakistan’s former envoy to the US Husain Haqqani said: “With US-Pakistan relations in a tailspin and hawkish attitudes dominating the subcontinent, one cannot predict if and how the situation would be controlled in the event of another major terrorist attack in India, with clear linkages to groups in Pakistan”.
He said Pakistan “must fulfil its promise of acting” against the masterminds of the 26/11 attack. (PTI)
