JK News Today Commentary
The extradition o 26/11 accused Tahawwur Hussain Rena from the United States to Delhi is a big diplomatic win for India, .. On a larger canvas , it has underscored India’s prestige and influence in its commitment to fight against terrorism at the global level .
This fact gets established through two prisms – what was the status of Mumbai terror attack and its treatment in the past and what it is now , giving a peep how this fight against terrorism will unveil in future- the inertia of the past is a forgotten chapter now. It is now a policy of proactive approach in which terrorism will see its end never to rise again.
Alongside, there is a powerful message for Pakistan that it should act against all actors promoting , exporting and executing terror from its soil to India, particularly Jammu and Kashmir. It has already been made it clear to Pakistan hat it cannot continue with what it idea of business as usual .Home Minister Amit Shah has not declared only severe punishment to terrorists but not to rest till entire ecosystem is finished ..
Tahawwur Rana has been extradited to India – and he landed in Delhi on Thursday evening and he was taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency ( NIA) to face trial for his role in planning the horrific terror attacks in Mumbai in November 2008,in which 166 people were killed . That massacre jolted the nation , and the image of the country was dented as it was found wanting in mounting a befitting response . That dent has been repaired by the Government , and reversed the image of India as a nation that could tolerate the terror atrocities , that two of the scale of 26/11.
The United States extradited the 26/11 accused as part of its partnership with India in fighting the scourge of terrorism at the global level.
Tammy Bruce , the spokesperson of the US State Department on Thursday while highlighting the importance of Tahawwur Rana facing justice in India for his role in planning the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai , said : “ The United states has long supported India’s efforts to ensure those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice, and , as President Trump has said, the United States and India will continue to work together to combat the global scourge of terrorism. So it is – he is in their possession and we are very proud of that dynamic.”
The importance of the extradition of Tahawwur Rana , a Canadian of Pakistan origin who was among the main plotters of the attacks that left 166 people, including Americans, Israelis , dead, lies in the fact that how India has extended its reach in its fight against terrorism . This is a signal of changing dynamics of the country’s approach , it is not allowing the matters to rest after the terror attacks . The terrorists and their backers are brought to justice . Tahawwur Rena’s extradition is just a demonstration of that commitment of the country’s government of the day which has shown its sincere commitment to fight terrorism for 11 years now- the Narendra Modi government assumed office in May 2014.
The 26/11 was nothing less than what 9/11 was to America . Terror masterminds based in Afghanistan – Al-Qaeda of Osama bin Laden , and Taliban and patronized by Pakistan , had launched massive terror strikes on the soil of the US, leaving nearly 3,000 people dead on September 11, 2001 . That had led to US declaring war on terror .
And, from November 26- to 28 , 10 terrorists trained , armed and launched by Pakistan via sea route to Mumbai, the financial capital of India, mounted multiple terror attacks .It was a mayhem for three days before the security forces neutralized nine and captured one of them Ajmal . Kasab was taken into custody and after trial of nearly four years he was sentenced to death and executed thereafter.
It is ironical that the Government of the day in November 2008 did not act in the manner to the terror attacks’ response as it should have. It came under the international pressure and simply sent dossiers to Pakistan asking the country to take action against the masterminds – Hafiz Saeed , , Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and others leaders of Lashkar-e-Toiba . But till date Pakistan has not gone beyond the cosmetic actions while maintaining that it had nothing to do with the 26/11 perpetrators .
The Modi government took upon itself to trace and get perpetrators to face trial. Tahawwur Rana is just one example of that . As a result of which Pakistan is feeling so much heat that it not willing to own its own citizen . Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told media Thursday on Rana : “ As far as our record indicates , he did not apply for renewal for his Pakistani origin documents for the last two decades.”
Even that proves that at the time of 26/11 , Tahawwur Rana was a Pakistani . The 26/11 happened little over 16 years ago . And Pakistan needs to remind itself that it had denied that Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani .
Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the extradition of Tahawwur Rana as a crowning diplomatic victory for the Modi government as it sends a clear message that his government is committed to bring to justice all the perpetrators who despoiled the Indian soil or committed any act of terror or other crimes. “ It is a big thing for the country,” Home Minister analyzed it like this . And, indeed it is a signal of holding India’s prestige and influence across the world.
