From the saga of leaked London Police documents to the revival of the Tanveer Zamani circus, this week we have once again seen sensational rumours spreading like wildfire. Unfortunately, less sensational but far more important stories are all but missing from the discussion.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s advisers pushed for targeted actions including economic sanctions against Pakistan military officers who the US believed were supporting al Qaeda terrorists.
“Assuming we have adequate intelligence, we can go after bank accounts, travel and other reachable assets of individual Pakistani officers, raising the stakes for those supporting the militants without creating an inordinate backlash,” he wrote.
“Thanks, Sandy. This is very helpful,” Clinton replied. Through a spokesman, Berger declined comment on Wednesday.
While the US State Department believes Pakistan military officers have supported terrorists, they do not seem to have the same concerns about Indian support for terrorism inside Pakistan despite Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel telling parliament that he presented the evidence during his trip to Washington last year. Actually, the US denies that Pakistan has presented any evidence.
“I am not aware of any such delivery,” said US State Department spokesman John Kirby when asked at a news briefing if Pakistan had shared those proofs with the United States.
These stories should be just as sensational, if not more than those that have dominated media this week, however they do not satisfy our desire to vilify the hapless politicians. Because of this, they are not only considered un-sensational, they are barely considered news.
