Attack on Pakistan's envoy may impact Lanka conflict

New Delhi - The near assassination of Pakistan's envoy to Sri Lanka in a bomb blast blamed on the Tamil Tigers is likely to complicate an already bad situation in a country where he played a key role in cementing military ties between Islamabad and Colombo.

Pakistan has in recent years emerged as a crucial weapons provider in view of India's reluctance to meet Sri Lanka's growing need for sophisticated weapons to counter the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Although no one claimed credit for Monday afternoon's bombing in the heart of Colombo that killed seven people, there is no doubt here that the audacious strike could only have been done by the LTTE.

Immediately after the bombing near the Liberty Plaza shopping complex, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry quickly claimed that Mohammed was indeed the man, who was to have been killed.

The assertion, if true, made Mohammed the first foreign diplomat to be targeted in Sri Lanka's dragging conflict that has claimed over 65,000 lives but in which the Tigers have intentionally killed no foreigner barring one: Rajiv Gandhi, the former prime Minister.

Mr. Mohammed was driving home from his embassy on Pakistan's Independence Day when the bomb went off, narrowly missing his car but devastating the one behind, killing four Sri Lankan commandos attached to the Special Diplomatic Security Unit.

Three others also perished.

As Colombo also made it clear that the bomb was meant for the envoy, India said it deplored the targeting of a diplomatic convoy by terrorist elements. Despite what Colombo might officially say, a section of the Sri Lankan security agencies feel that Mohammed was probably not the target and that the LTTE may have wanted to take out any security personnel on that street, located close to President, Mahinda Rajapaksa's official residence. Some analysts share this view.

However, the dominant assessment in New Delhi is that Mohammed was indeed the intended victim. The LTTE, it is argued, could not have made an error of this kind since his car could have been recognised easily as a diplomatic vehicle.

Significantly, the pro-LTTE TamilNet website pointed out in its brief report of the incident that Mr Mohammed was a former director of Pakistan's Intelligence Bureau and that he earlier served as head of intelligence operations in the Pakistani mission in Colombo in the 1990s.

The assessment here about Mr Mohammed is that he not only played a significant role in cementing military ties between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, exploiting India's reluctance to provide Colombo the weapons and hardware it desired, but also actively spawned anti-India feelings among certain Sri Lankan political groups.

Well informed sources also say that Mohammed arranged for the visit of Pakistani military officers to Sri Lanka's north to study Colombo's military preparations and to secretly bring in 310 tons of military supplies to the island disguised as relief supplies after the December 2004 tsunami.

The envoy is also believed to have quietly built relations between Islamabad and some radical Muslim groups in Sri Lanka's east. Much of this was known to the LTTE, which remembers the vital military backing Pakistan gave to Sri Lanka to prevent the possible fall of Jaffna in 2000.

Both Indian and Sri Lankan sources feel that the bombing of the Pakistani envoy's security vehicle would only push Islamabad closer to Colombo, as can be gleaned from the statements of both governments after the bombing.

Courtesy: Navhind Times