Journalism of Courage
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not waste much time Thursday morning to decide on going ahead with his plans to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif after a quick internal review assessed that the Samba attack was intended to scuttle the meeting set for Sunday.
So,even as the gun battle entered its last stages,Singh issued a statement asserting that enemies of peace will not be allowed to derail the dialogue process. The aim,sources said,was to be quick off the blocks to quell any speculation.
Also,in anticipation of a strong BJP backlash,efforts were immediately made to coordinate with the Congress party so that there was no disconnect in the messages from the government and the party.
The Prime Minister,who arrived here on a working visit to meet US President Barack Obama,was told about the attack at about 5.30 am in Frankfurt where he had made a stopover on his way. For the next hour or so,the PMO monitored the situation closely from Frankfurt before deciding to go ahead with the Sharif meeting.
The decision was made only after ascertaining that the situation was under control and that this was indeed a terrorist attack aimed at derailing the Singh-Sharif meeting. The intelligence assessment from Delhi was clear that those behind the attack were against Sharifs peace efforts.
As a result,the PMs statement was clear: Such attacks will not deter us and will not succeed in derailing our efforts to find a resolution to all problems through a process of dialogue.
While condemning the heinous terrorist attack and underlining Indias commitment to defeat the terrorist menace that continues to receive encouragement and reinforcement from across the border,Singh also made a distinction between the civilian government and those targeting the dialogue process.
This is one more in a series of provocations and barbaric actions by the enemies of peace, he said. Sources explained that there is a constituency of peace in Pakistan with which India will continue to engage and at present,the new Pakistani government is sending the right signals.
Singh,who turned 81 today,however,was learnt to have turned quite sad and disappointed after the incident which has further complicated the conversation with the new Pakistani government. In fact,there was a cloud of gloom as officials sought to make sense of what had happened and devise ways to deal with the fallout.
The other worry was on the question of how the militants managed to enter the Army location without facing early resistance.
However,for the moment,all attention was focused on the meeting with Sharif,where the PM will make it clear that it would be difficult to sustain the peace process if violence is on the rise along the Line of Control and,perhaps,showing dangerous signs of spreading as initial inputs suggested the attackers had infiltrated through the international border near Hiranagar.
