Pak dailies go to town on Krishna’s criticism of Home Secretary Pillai

ISLAMABAD - A majority of dailies in Pakistan have gone to town on Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna’s criticism of Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai

The News said that while it could not understand the timing of Pillai’s comments about an alleged link between Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the attacks on Mumbai, it opined that a certain “element of malafide” was involved, and this contributed to the collapse of the foreign-minister-level talks on July 15.

“By appointing a new spokesperson for the (Indian) home ministry, the Indians have taken some action. It is likely that this comes with the approval of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who Mr. Krishna met before going public with his comments against the home secretary,” The News further said.

“There must now be a still more determined effort to ensure that the opponents of peace do not destroy the bid to bring the two countries closer. New Delhi needs to give Islamabad some explanation as to what went wrong so that things can move on and the process of negotiation resumes as quickly as possible,” it adds.

In its editorial, the Daily Times lauds Krishna’a decision to speak out candidly and “admonish” Home Secretary Pillai for his “untimely words” on the eve of the July 15 talks.

“It is vital that India understand the magnitude of this diplomatic blunder… For the stability of the entire region, peace between Pakistan and India is an undeniable necessity. Glitches such as the Pillai affair serve as only minor hindrances in the procedure and prioritization of the dialogue agenda,” the paper says.

It also praises Krishna for trying to “extract as many positives as possible” from the talks, and adds that that “this is the only way forward”.

The Dawn, however, says that: “It would be too much to find a scapegoat in Mr. Pillai and hold him responsible for the fiasco at Islamabad. All said and done, Mr. Pillai is a bureaucrat and that defines his role. For that reason, Mr. Krishna should have ignored his audacity. The truth is that the Pillai episode reveals the deep fissures that exists with the Indian establishment on its Pakistan policy”.

The editorial in The Nation says that India’s game plan is to “basically gain a rapid military advantage before the international community steps in and prevents Pakistan from responding”.

It also rubbishes India’s “Cold Start Doctrine” as “irrational and an attempt to establishIndian hegemony” in South Asia. (ANI)