Failure of Indian diplomacy reflected in Headley case: BJP

Expressing its fear that the country may be denied access to Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, BJP today alleged the failure of Indian diplomacy had resulted in denial of its "sovereign right" to custodial interrogation of the Mumbai terror attack "mastermind".

"We are talking with a sense of fear, talking with a sense of apprehension that India is not going to get access to most wanted terrorist - David Coleman Headley. The sovereign stature of India, which has a strong foundation in democracy, has been shaken," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.

She asserted that since Headley was the main accused in a crime committed in India, the country had a "sovereign right" to have access to him. 

The main opposition alleged that though the home minister had described 26/11 as an attack on India, the government had failed to put diplomatic pressure on the US to extradite him.

"This is a failure of Indian diplomacy. Prime minister Manmohan Singh is going too much out of his way to befriend the US. We are not being treated as equal partners. While we provided complete access to (26/11 accused) Ajmal Kasab, we are denied access to Headley," Sitharaman said.

She took a dig at the government, saying a team of investigators sent earlier to the US was sent back due to lack of "adequate preparation". 

Sitharaman maintained that though there were reports of an Indian team going to the US as early as the first week of April, the "modalities of extradition were not yet clear". 

"Denial of access to Headley will only mean that we will never know what implication the Karachi Project will have in the attacks which India will have to face in future," Sitharaman said, adding, that even the role of state and non-state actors would not be ascertained.

Sitharaman maintained that the government was banking too much on the US for its fight against terror.

"The government is thinking US will go the extra mile. India was not prepared fully and was waiting for the US to wage our war," she said.

BJP also cautioned the government on the need for tough diplomacy as Pakistan was a close ally of the US and was trying to sign a civil nuclear deal with that country. 

"We find the government position absolutely wanting in this regard," she said. 

"Pakistan has been and is an ally of the United States. Our worry is that the US will not permit revealing anything that projects Pakistan's involvement in perpetrating terror in the sub-continent," Sitharaman said. 

On the apprehensions of a civil nuclear deal between US and Pakistan, Sitharaman said US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had maintained her country may consider it.

"This is astonishing especially in the light of Pakistan's poor record on the nuclear non-proliferation matters. A Q Khan had caught international attention in the way he had unbridled access to nuclear material, which he smuggled in and out of Pakistan," Sitharaman said.

She described Pakistan's record on nuclear non-proliferation as "poor". 

"Periodically we have heard and read reports of how both the political and scientific communities are worried that the control of Pakistan's nuclear facilities are in danger of falling into wrong hands," she said. 

Sitharaman alleged that the regulatory mechanism did not apply in Pakistan and it did not have a good nuclear record.