World View

In the aftermath of the devastating terrorist attack on India's commercial capital, Mumbai, efforts are on to defuse the worsening relations between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on a visit to the subcontinent and there are calls from world leaders to the leaders of India and Pakistan to exercise restraint. In the US, president-elect Barack Obama has named his Cabinet, accorded

the coveted post of Secretary of State to Hillary Clinton and has retained the services of President Bush's Secretary of State Robert Gates. These were the major events of this week and they were contemplated, analysed and commented on. We present here excerpts of editorials from the regional and the international press

Commenting on souring ties between India and Pakistan because of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai , the International Herald Tribune called for leaders in India and Pakistan to exercise restraint.

"It should not be hard to trace the assault on India's commercial centre to the masterminds behind the operation. Indeed, Indian officials have already said they have evidence pointing to Pakistan as the place of origin. Consequently, there is a grave danger that the carnage in Mumbai could provoke much higher levels of violence across a wide arc of South Asia. This is what will happen if Indian and Pakistani leaders allow the Mumbai atrocities to undo the recent rapprochement between their two governments. Those leaders will come under intense pressure to stoke nationalist passions. They need to exercise restraint," it said.

A similar sentiment was expressed by Los Angeles Times which stated that although the world is justifiably outraged over the bloodletting in Mumbai, and Indians are right to demand a reckoning from their government for its failure to protect innocents as well as justice for murderers allegedly linked to an Islamist extremist group based in Pakistan. But neither the Indian nor the Pakistani government should allow an act of terrorism to escalate into greater hostilities between Hindus and Muslims, or into a hot conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries.

Times of India pointed out that the latest assault on Mumbai was qualitatively different. "The implication that we may have seen the debut of a new model of terrorism is one that should concern not just India but the global community," it said.

It also called for strengthening cooperation with the US to fight the menace of terrorism. "A new threat demands a new response. India has made a good start with the expansion of National Security Guard forces and the creation of a rapid response unit within the Maharashtra police as well as the beefing up of a third layer of coastal defence, marine police, all long overdue. But perhaps the most potent measure would be broad-based cooperation among the intelligence systems of various countries. India-US intelligence cooperation is already at an unprecedented level. The aftermath of the Mumbai attack provides an opportunity to further enhance it and add countries such as Israel to the framework," it added.

Pakistan's leading daily The News commented that the unanimous resolution adopted by the All Parties Conference in Islamabad, assuring the government and the country's armed forces of full support in the wake of the tensions created by the attack on Mumbai, has come at an opportune time.

"In the aftermath of the events at Mumbai we need to think responsibly and with clarity. The spate of charges from India has been quite obviously unreasonable. The security apparatus of that country has a great deal to answer for," it stated.

Obama Cabinet

US President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team comprising Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton, national security adviser Gen. James L. Jones and Susan E. Rice, who has been nominated as ambassador to the United Nations. He has also retained the services of Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

Commenting on the composition of Obama's Cabinet, New York Times stated that starting with the selection of Hillary Rodham Clinton, his former rival, as secretary of state, the president-elect has displayed his usual self-confidence. "Declaring that he prizes "strong personalities and strong opinions," Obama, who has limited foreign-policy experience, showed that he wants advisers with real authority who will not be afraid to disagree with him - two traits disastrously lacking in President Bush's team," it remarked.