By IANS,
Islamabad : The string of massive explosions in Mumbai Wednesday “brought back disturbing memories of 2008’s audacious terrorist attacks”, said a leading Pakistani daily.
The three blasts in Mumbai Wednesday evening left 17 people dead and over 130 injured.
An editorial in the Dawn said Friday: “Wednesday’s bomb blasts in the Indian financial hub of Mumbai brought back disturbing memories of 2008’s audacious terrorist attacks, in which militants held the city hostage for nearly four days.”
It added: “Though there is no proven link yet, Wednesday’s blasts occurred close to the anniversary of the July 11, 2006, Mumbai train bombings, in which the Students Islamic Movement of India, a group with links to the Indian Mujahideen, was suspected of involvement.”
The editorial said that it was “welcome that India has not rushed to blame Pakistan for the attack, while both the Pakistan president and prime minister swiftly condemned the blasts”.
Mumbai has seen its share of violence – communal and terrorist – over the past two decades.
“In March 1993, hundreds were killed and injured in bomb blasts in the aftermath of the Babri Mosque’s demolition, while the city was struck by a series of explosions in 2003,” the Dawn recalled.
“Yet it was 2008’s attacks that sent India-Pakistan relations into a deep freeze.”
It said that both governments “must show restraint, channelling their energies towards fighting terrorism together”.
“If credible links are indeed found to non-state actors in Pakistan – though there is no evidence of this at the moment – the Pakistani authorities must take action against the quarters concerned.”
The foreign ministers of both countries are due to meet in the coming weeks and it should be ensured “the meeting is unaffected and the peace process not derailed. Any setback would only work to the advantage of extremists on both sides”.