It wasn’t bad enough that Pakistan is loudly rattling the nuclear saber? Now we’re dealing with batman villains?
Nuclear-armed Pakistan went into a state of ‘high alert’ last weekend and was eyeing India for possible signs of military aggression, after a threatening phone call made to President Asif Ali Zardari by someone from Delhi who posed himself as the Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Whether it was mere mischief or a sinister move by someone in the Indian external affairs ministry, or the call came from within Pakistan, remains unclear… To some world leaders the probability of an accidental war appeared very high… an attempt was also made by the mysterious caller, claiming to be the Indian external affairs minister, to speak to the US Secretary of State, but due to specific checks laid down by the Americans, the call couldn’t get through to Dr Rice… [A]s admitted by a top official in Islamabad, the more serious issue was the by-passing of the standard operating procedure to put such a call through to the President almost directly without even verifying the identity of the caller.
Very funny except: (a) it could have triggered nuclear warfighting (b) it demonstrates that Pakistan’s political institutions are staffed by morons and (c) the next threatening call from India might not be a hoax:
A week after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Indian officials on Friday stepped up their efforts to draw a connection between the violence and Pakistani government agencies. In New Delhi, a high-level source in the Indian government, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said India has “clear and incontrovertible proof” that an Islamist militant group based in Pakistan, Lashkar-i-Taiba, planned the attacks and that the group’s leaders were trained and supported by Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI. “We have the names of the handlers. And we know that there is a close relationship between the Lashkar and the ISI,” the source said.
That declaration was pretty much inevitable but the terrorists had years of training – and since that happened somewhere with supplies from someone, Pakistan is probably involved. That – coupled with Islamabad’s abrupt u-turns on cooperation – could not have warmed the hearts of Indian investigators.
References:
* Pakistan: "Nuclear missiles can be fired within minutes in case of war" [Spencer]
* A hoax call that could have triggered war [Dawn.com]
* Indian Official Points to Pakistan [WaPo]
* Finger Pointing Begins: How Much Is India’s Govt On The Hook For Mumbai Massacre? [MR]
* India ready to inject surviving Mumbai jihadi with truth serum; Update: Jihadis’ website registered in U.S.? [Hot Air]
* Mumbai Whodunnit: Names vs. Networks [CT Blog]
* Pakistan U-turns on sending spy chief to India [JPost]
Previously:
* US Forces Israel To Ground Cutting-Edge Spy Satellite
* Hey Gals, Check This Out – If You’re A Feminist Who Thinks That The Koran Should Give Women Rights, You May Have To Die
* Ongoing List Of Root Causes, Un-Islamic Religions Responsible For Mumbai Massacre
