India sees negative fallout in S Asia

With terror elements claiming the life of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, India, as next door neighbour, is apprehensive of a negative fallout of a volatile Pakistan on South Asia, officials and analysts said yesterday.
India has already sounded a high security alert along its borders with Pakistan amid reports of a backlash in Pakistan over Benazir's killing.
"The paramilitary forces have been put on alert all along the India-Pakistan border following the assassination of Benazir", a spokesman of Indian Home Ministry said last night.
Government leadership is worried that if terrorism grows in Pakistan further and religious extremist elements gain more upper hand, India cannot be immune to its dangerous repercussions, they said.
New Delhi's growing unease with escalating lawlessness in Pakistan is reflected in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's reaction to Benazir's assassination when he said that her killing is a "reminder of the common dangers that our region faces from the cowardly acts of terrorism and the need to eradicate this dangerous threat", officials said.
With the internal security situation in Pakistan in critical condition, analysts here projected two basic scenarios emerging in that country: One Pakistan returning to the grip of the army or second increased clout of fundamentalist forces in a new political set-up.
Both are ominous for India, they added.
Analysts like G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner to Pakistan, said Benazir's death could derail the peace talks started by the two countries in 2002.
"The democracy process having been derailed in that country, the power will once again return to the hands of Pakistani military which does not want peace with India”, he said.
Analysts here said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's decision to boycott next month's elections in Pakistan is a major blow to the credibility to the exercise which now looks in danger of being postponed.
The attack on the PPP leader shows the determination of fundamentalist forces to trigger chaos and havoc against political players opposed to them, they said.
India's anxiety is primarily due to its past experience as the known reflex in Pakistan at the time of its internal crisis is to step up terror activities in India to divert attention from problems at home, the analysts said.
Secondly, they added, absence of democracy in Pakistan could further encourage Talibanised elements there to fill the void.