Surely The Prime Minister Jests

Via Pakistan's Daily Dawn, Kuldip Nayar reports on his recent meeting with Dr. Manmohan Singh and National Security Adviser M K Naraynan:

WHEN I met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his security adviser, M.K. Narayanan, barely 24 hours before the Bangalore shootout, they were worried about terrorist attacks in the country because such were the intelligence reports. Narayanan was more specific and said that the target could be Bangalore or Hyderabad because the two cities had come to symbolize India’s high technology and fast growth.

Narayanan had no doubt that there was a nexus between the terrorists from Bangladesh and the ISI of Pakistan. They were spreading in the country and looking for soft targets. “It is a serious situation,” he said. He had been vainly requesting top Pakistani and Bangladesh officials to stop terrorism in India.

The prime minister said that despite the promise by President General Pervez Musharraf to him last August not to allow cross-border terrorism, it had not stopped. The training camps were intact and the apparatus of terrorism had not been dismantled in any way. Narayanan said that the infiltration had increased and that cross-border terrorism was “higher than before.”

There was anguish in the prime minister’s voice when he said that he was prepared to talk to Pakistan on any subject, Kashmir or whatever else, and try to find a solution but what could he do in the face of unabated cross-border terrorism? “I still have faith in General Musharraf and hope he will do something to stop it,” said the prime minister.

We are struck by Mr. Narayanan's comment that he's been "requesting" Pakistan & Bangladesh to stop terrorism in India. Hello? Isn't that his responsibility? Also, why does he think that making polite requests of terrorist patrons will help resolve the issue?!

Dr. Singh's "anguish" over terrorism and his "faith" in General Musharraf is even more puzzling.

What world is our leadership living in?! Hopefully there's more to Indian security than making "requests" and having "faith"?