Times online: December 7, 2008:
"A hoax telephone call almost sparked another war between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan at the height of last month's terror attacks on Mumbai, officials and Western diplomats on both sides of the border said today.
Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani President, took a telephone call from a man pretending to be Pranab Mukherjee, India's Foreign Minister, on Friday, November 28, apparently without following the usual verification procedures, they said.
The hoax caller threatened to take military action against Pakistan in response to the then ongoing Mumbai attacks, which India has since blamed on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), they said.
Mr Zardari responded by placing Pakistan's air force on high alert and telephoning Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, to ask her to intervene.
But when Dr Rice called Mr Mukherjee, he said that he had not spoken to Mr Zardari and that his last conversation with Shah Mahmood Qureishi, the Pakistani Foreign Minister, had been quite civil.
"It's unbelievable, but true," said a Western diplomat familiar with the frantic diplomatic exchanges that eventually resolved the misunderstanding.
"It was a little alarming, to say the least.""
Times Link.
It looks like some people very high in the Pakistani politico/military hierarchy are working overtime to cause fireworks on the India-Pakistan border. I can't think of any other manner in which such a call could have been patched to Zardari.
I am thinking that the Pakistani military and it's ISI branch is throwing the gauntlet to the NATO forces who are building up for the coming show-down on the Western border: you'll be on your own to fight Al-Qaeda because we'll be busy fighting India. The Pakistani political leaders are, at best, useful idiots for the military so we can safely leave them out of this equation.
The dilemma for India is whether to fall for the bait and play into it's hands or do nothing and appear as wimps and wait for the next provocation which will definitely happen? It's a situation similar to Israel's dilemma when Saddam was firing off scuds in their direction during the First Gulf war inviting them to join the fight.
Under these circumstances, what should the relationship between India and the U.S. be, since any Indian response will have a bearing on the war in Afghanistan?
"A hoax telephone call almost sparked another war between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan at the height of last month's terror attacks on Mumbai, officials and Western diplomats on both sides of the border said today.
Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani President, took a telephone call from a man pretending to be Pranab Mukherjee, India's Foreign Minister, on Friday, November 28, apparently without following the usual verification procedures, they said.
The hoax caller threatened to take military action against Pakistan in response to the then ongoing Mumbai attacks, which India has since blamed on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), they said.
Mr Zardari responded by placing Pakistan's air force on high alert and telephoning Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, to ask her to intervene.
But when Dr Rice called Mr Mukherjee, he said that he had not spoken to Mr Zardari and that his last conversation with Shah Mahmood Qureishi, the Pakistani Foreign Minister, had been quite civil.
"It's unbelievable, but true," said a Western diplomat familiar with the frantic diplomatic exchanges that eventually resolved the misunderstanding.
"It was a little alarming, to say the least.""
Times Link.
It looks like some people very high in the Pakistani politico/military hierarchy are working overtime to cause fireworks on the India-Pakistan border. I can't think of any other manner in which such a call could have been patched to Zardari.
I am thinking that the Pakistani military and it's ISI branch is throwing the gauntlet to the NATO forces who are building up for the coming show-down on the Western border: you'll be on your own to fight Al-Qaeda because we'll be busy fighting India. The Pakistani political leaders are, at best, useful idiots for the military so we can safely leave them out of this equation.
The dilemma for India is whether to fall for the bait and play into it's hands or do nothing and appear as wimps and wait for the next provocation which will definitely happen? It's a situation similar to Israel's dilemma when Saddam was firing off scuds in their direction during the First Gulf war inviting them to join the fight.
Under these circumstances, what should the relationship between India and the U.S. be, since any Indian response will have a bearing on the war in Afghanistan?