ID :
34304
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 21:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/34304
The shortlink copeid
Hoax call to Prez sends Pak security establishment into tizzy
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Dec 6 (PTI) A hoax call made to President Asif
Ali Zardari during the Mumbai terror attacks, purportedly by
someone posing as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee,
had sent the Pakistani security establishment into a tizzy.
The call was made late on November 28, while Indian
security forces were still battling the terrorists who had
occupied the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels in Mumbai, and the
person posing as Mukherjee reportedly used threatening
language while speaking to Zardari.
The caller purportedly said New Delhi would take military
action if Islamabad did not act against the perpetrators of
the attack, highly placed diplomatic and other sources told
PTI.
The following day, November 29, some Pakistani newspapers
and TV channels reported that a threatening call had been made
by Mukherjee. The reports did not say to whom the call was
made and their sourcing was vague.
However, officials in the Indian High Commission here
were "mystified" by these reports and began doing a thorough
check to get to the bottom of the matter, the sources said.
Contacts were established with the Pakistani
establishment and as details trickled out, the High Commission
began cross-checking with New Delhi.
After it was established that a hoax caller had contacted
the President's office, the Indian government conveyed to
Pakistan that it had nothing to do with the call. "A clear
message was sent out that the call was fake and it should not
exacerbate tensions at a crucial time," a source told PTI.
It still remains unclear how the hoax caller managed to
violate official protocols related to the making of telephone
calls between leaders of two countries. In the event of such
contacts, the envoys of both countries are usually informed
several hours before the call is made, sources said.
The envoys coordinate with their respective governments
to discuss the possible contents of a call and quite a lot of
preparation is done before the call actually goes through. A
specific time is also set for the call, the sources said.
When the call came through on Friday, some senior members
of Zardari's staff decided to "bypass the standard procedures
meant for such occasions" because of the heightened tensions
over the Mumbai attacks, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The normal practice of "verification of the caller and
involvement of the diplomatic missions" was skipped, the
report said.
The call was then transferred to Zardari. "The caller
introduced himself as Pranab Mukherjee and, while ignoring the
conciliatory language of the President, directly threatened to
take military action if Islamabad failed to immediately act
against the supposed perpetrators of the Mumbai killings," the
report said. PTI RHL
DEP
NNNN
Islamabad, Dec 6 (PTI) A hoax call made to President Asif
Ali Zardari during the Mumbai terror attacks, purportedly by
someone posing as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee,
had sent the Pakistani security establishment into a tizzy.
The call was made late on November 28, while Indian
security forces were still battling the terrorists who had
occupied the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels in Mumbai, and the
person posing as Mukherjee reportedly used threatening
language while speaking to Zardari.
The caller purportedly said New Delhi would take military
action if Islamabad did not act against the perpetrators of
the attack, highly placed diplomatic and other sources told
PTI.
The following day, November 29, some Pakistani newspapers
and TV channels reported that a threatening call had been made
by Mukherjee. The reports did not say to whom the call was
made and their sourcing was vague.
However, officials in the Indian High Commission here
were "mystified" by these reports and began doing a thorough
check to get to the bottom of the matter, the sources said.
Contacts were established with the Pakistani
establishment and as details trickled out, the High Commission
began cross-checking with New Delhi.
After it was established that a hoax caller had contacted
the President's office, the Indian government conveyed to
Pakistan that it had nothing to do with the call. "A clear
message was sent out that the call was fake and it should not
exacerbate tensions at a crucial time," a source told PTI.
It still remains unclear how the hoax caller managed to
violate official protocols related to the making of telephone
calls between leaders of two countries. In the event of such
contacts, the envoys of both countries are usually informed
several hours before the call is made, sources said.
The envoys coordinate with their respective governments
to discuss the possible contents of a call and quite a lot of
preparation is done before the call actually goes through. A
specific time is also set for the call, the sources said.
When the call came through on Friday, some senior members
of Zardari's staff decided to "bypass the standard procedures
meant for such occasions" because of the heightened tensions
over the Mumbai attacks, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The normal practice of "verification of the caller and
involvement of the diplomatic missions" was skipped, the
report said.
The call was then transferred to Zardari. "The caller
introduced himself as Pranab Mukherjee and, while ignoring the
conciliatory language of the President, directly threatened to
take military action if Islamabad failed to immediately act
against the supposed perpetrators of the Mumbai killings," the
report said. PTI RHL
DEP
NNNN
