Shared visions: Khushwant Singh and Fahmida Riaz

Writing in the Hindustan Times on July 29, Khushwant Singh yet again infused some sanity into the popular Indian discourse on the recent Mumbai blasts. His column titled Glasshouses and retribution read as follows:

“I think at this stage it is unfair to accuse President Musharraf’s government of having a hand in the ghastly killings of innocent commuters in Mumbai’s trains and suspend peace talks with it. We do not have hard evidence to nail it. Most of the men arrested on suspicion of complicity in the crime are Indian nationals. We are not sure where they got sophisticated time-bombs and training to handle them. The most important fact to bear in mind before drawing conclusions is that the Musharraf government is itself often the target of these subversive elements; it is either unwilling or unable to contend with and let them carry out their nefarious activities in India…..”

He added, “The best we can do is to offer ….. This needs closer cooperation between two neighbours and might prove more fruitful than stop talking to them.”

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