Shame at "Sharm El Sheikh"

Most of our governments past and present are like creatures that never learn to avoid pain (or should I say pain of its people). This post is motivated by actions of our PM during his visit to Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Some background first.

• Between May 2008 and Nov 2008, at least 7 out of 10 incidents were planned or launched by Pakistani Army and its intelligence agency (ISI) though its creation LeT
• Total of more than 40 bomb blasts occurred on these 7 attacks.
• Approximately 300 people lost their lives
• Almost 600 people, according to official estimates are maimed. Unofficial estimates are expected to be lot higher
• 6 months later, most of the people arrested by Pakistan for namesake were released one by one.
• Leader of LeT (the face of 26/11 terrorist attack) was just set free by Pakistani courts, apparently because federal government did not part with evidence.

Instead of doggedly pursuing the culprits of these attacks and making them pay wherever they are, Indian government chose to look the other way in Sharm-el-Sheikh. Knowingly or unknowingly, it even ended up rewarding Pakistan for it. Here is one report by Gourav Sawant. Report : Sell out at Sharm-el-Sheihk

Sawant asks-

• God forbid the next terror attack happens! And it will be given that the terror infrastructure in Pakistan is still intact. Both the UN and the US officials along with our own IB have repeatedly spoken of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror threat and our inability to wake up to the threat - what will you do....Will you still talk to Pakistan about Siachen, Sir Creek, Jammu and Kashmir, terror and go through the whole process with innocents dying. If so sir…why blame Pakistan alone....we too will have blood on our hands....

For somebody affected with Pakistani violence on Indian cities and shores for almost two decades, here is the "sky is blue moment" from Sawant-

• Please learn from our past mistakes. Every time we have trusted them they have stabbed us in the back. Your predecessor went to Lahore and they did a Kargil on us. While Vajpayee and the entire diplomatic machinery was celebrating in Lahore, Pakistani troops were making deeper inroads into Kargil, Drass, Kaksar and Batalik.

• Perhaps, even as you were shaking hands in Sharm al Sheikh the Dirty Tricks Department of the Pakistan army was planning or even may be executing another plan to cut us...hurt us...maim us...

(For more on the above look into "operation topaz" and "Kargil").

A quote that needs to be drilled into our psyche : Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.