Mumbai Bomber suspects arrested in India

The first arrests of suspects in the Mumbai Train Bombings have occurred in India as the BBC reports. This is good news if the Indian authorities do have the right suspects. I have detected a change in the stance of India towards terrorism and their neighbors in Pakistan since this event.

indian arrests.jpgThe first arrests of suspects in the Mumbai Train Bombings have occurred in India as the BBC reports. This is good news if the Indian authorities do have the right suspects. I have detected a change in the stance of India towards terrorism and their neighbors in Pakistan since this event.

While they have terrorist events often compared to America, they seem to have fatalistically accepted them for a long time. The response this time is the strongest that I have seen, and it is good to see the government of India actively working to protect all citizens, for after all that is job number one for government and their prime purpose.

UPDATE: Reports now indicate that four have been arrested.

More from the BBC:

The police have detained more than 300 suspects but these are the first arrests in the case. Two of the men were detained on Thursday in the northern state of Bihar and the third later in Mumbai.

The three belong to a banned group, the Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi), officials say. Some Simi members were held earlier in the inquiry. The organisation has denied any involvement in the attacks.

A senior police official involved in the investigation, K P Suryavanshi, told reporters that the men have links to Nepal or Bangladesh, which point “directly or indirectly to Pakistan”.

 Viinod, commenting on a previous story here pointed out the probable connection to SIMI and Pakistan in an earlier story here from Viinod:

Skeptics who conveniently overlook the extremely dark face of this pernicious ideology would do well to read ‘Who Killed Daniel Pearl’ by Bernard-Henri Levy. Why not just read the posters openly displayed in the office of the Students Islamic Movement of India(SIMI), ‘Waiting for Ghaznavi’, ‘No Democracy, No Secularism, Only Islam’. What else is Pakistan about? What else is international Islamic fundamentalism and terror about? This is the real terrorism which everyone in India is ignoring in their misplaced zeal to sound ’secular’ and bipartisan. That is exactly what such outfits need to flourish and mount an increasingly formidable challenge to the perceived domination by Hindus in India and Christians in the West. And yet, Indian media and politicians choose to completely ignore this foundational challenge to the nation which brazenly seeks to convert the ‘Indian’ part of India into Pakistan too. They want to remain in their cozy make-believe world of engaging with and publicizing ’secular’ Muslims.

Please also visit Captain’s Quarters for more.

Meanwhile in Pakistan, Musharaf walk’s the razor’s edge. Pakistan is under scrutiny due to the recent upsurge in Taliban attacks, and the possibility that the Mumbai bombers came from Pakistan. With two neighbors angry, and a large population supportive of Islamofascism he is in quite a political pickle. Note the strong stance against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, but also the anti-Israeli position:

President General Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday that the focus against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan has now been shifted to Taliban, who are based in southern Afghanistan.

Six to seven hundred Al Qaeda members were arrested in cities and government took action against others in mountains and succeeded. He assured that military action against terrorists will continue and no one will be allowed to cross the border.  He categorically stated that no foreign terrorists will be allowed on Pakistani soil and no person will go from Pakistan to Afghanistan for any terrorist activities.

“We have launched operations against certain elements that are active on our side of the border. We are partners in the fight against terrorism as Pakistan is very much part of international coalition of this menace.”
The President made it categorically clear that Pakistan would not accept any accusations and finger pointing and emphasized that Afghanistan should desist from leveling unsubstantiated charges.

“We have to fight extremism and terrorism as partners,” the President said but cautioned against any interference from Afghanistan into Pakistan’s internal affairs and said it must stop forthwith.

Referring to the Bombay blasts and Indian allegations, the President called for refraining from making unsubstantiated remarks against Pakistan.

President Musharraf said he himself, the people and the government of Pakistan strongly condemn this act of terrorism.

He said Pakistan is against terrorism and extremism as it has been a victim of this malaise and is engaged relentlessly in the fight against extremism and terrorism.

The President on behalf of the people of Pakistan expressed solidarity with the people of Mumbai over the tragic loss of life as a result of terrorist act and offered condolences to the bereaved families.

However, the President lamented the Indian attitude in the wake of the bomb blasts and said that any talk of postponement or stalling of peace process would tantamount to a victory for the terrorists….

….The President said the brazen Israeli attack against Lebanon has caused enormous death and destruction in the Middle Eastern country. He said if Syria and Iran also get involved in the conflict it could also affect the entire region including Pakistan.