Pakistani terrorists responsible for Mumbai attacks, admits former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif

Lahore: The former Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif clearly admitted that the 26/11 Mumbai attacks had been committed by Pakistani terrorists. “Pakistani militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai?” asked the former Pakistani PM while putting forth Pakistan’s stance and suggesting that the country should think over it. In an interview with the Pakistani daily ‘Dawn’, the former PM said that there were two or three parallel governments running the country and indirectly targeted the Pakistani military too. Due to Sharif’s acknowledgement, Pakistan who has been consistently denying its involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks is now under additional pressure.

Nawaz Sharif who had to abandon his position as the prime minister after court’s ruling over the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal, attacked the Pakistani policies of ‘safeguarding terrorists’. His interview by a Pakistan daily made a sensation ahead of a rally in Multan, which he was to participate in. “India and the US have been consistently pointing towards Pakistan’s involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks. However, Pakistan has been persistently denying the evidence and claims of Pakistani terrorists being involved in the Mumbai attacks. Having said that, Hafiz Saeed, who has been declared the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks, established his own political party and is ready to contest in elections”.

In view of these events, the former PM Sharif admitted that Pakistan was largely suffering due to its policies that support terrorists. He avoided taking names of Hafiz Saeed, Mumbai attack mastermind and Maulana Masood Azhar, Syed Salahuddin and the names of their organisations. Nevertheless, he clearly mentioned that the terrorist organisations were operational in Pakistan as ‘non-state actors’. He also blamed the Pakistani authorities by posing the question, “Explain to me as to why the 26/11 Mumbai attack case trial cannot be completed?”

Even Russian President, Putin and Chinese President, Xi Jinping have deemed the actions across the borders by non-state actors as unacceptable, reminded Sharif. Likewise, he drew attention to the fact that the US President, Donald Trump had accused Pakistan as the country of ‘Lies and Deceit’, while criticising the country’s policies’. Due to these traditional Pakistani policies of safeguarding the terrorists, it had isolated itself from the rest of the world and had to bear losses in the fight against terrorism within the state. ‘Our narrative is not being accepted and Pakistan’s pro-terrorism policy was responsible for it’, said Sharif.

‘Afghanistan‘s narrative has a better standing than ours. We need to look into it now. You can’t run a country if you have two or three parallel governments. This has to stop. There can be only one government, the constitutional one”. Sharif said this while criticising the Pakistani military intervention within the state.

Sharif’s confession put an end to Pakistan’s claims of not being involved in the Mumbai attacks in any way. As the former PM belongs to the same party as the ruling government in Pakistan, his admittance is considered important, coming from a prominent leader and adds to the mounting pressure over Pakistan for action against terrorists.