India's foreign minister accused Pakistan on Sunday of trying to dodge blame over the Mumbai attacks' Pakistani origins by leaking a story about a hoax call to Pakistan's president that set off diplomatic panic.Yeah, that's right. A hoax call after Mumbai nearly led to an open conflict between two nuclear powers. And the really scary part is it still might do so.Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported on Saturday that Pakistan had put its forces on high alert after a caller pretending to be Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee threatened President Asif Ali Zardari while the attacks were still going on.
"I can only ascribe this series of events to those in Pakistan who wish to divert attention from the fact that a terrorist group, operating from the Pakistani territory, planned and launched a ghastly attack on Mumbai," Mukherjee said in a statement released on Sunday.
Pakistan insisted the call came from an official and verified phone number in India's foreign ministry.
New Delhi has demanded Islamabad take swift action over what it says is the latest anti-India militant attack emanating from Pakistani soil.
At least 171 people were killed during the three-day assault last week across India's financial capital, which has imperiled the improving ties between the south Asian nuclear rivals.
Officials from "third countries" called to inform Mukherjee of the hoax call, he said. He did not name them, but Dawn said the caller was a worried U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in both capitals last week to ease tensions.
"It is, however, worrying that a neighboring state might even consider acting on the basis of such a hoax call," he said.
Think about it. If you're Al-Qaeda, what better way to destabilize Pakistan's government and take control of their nukes than to force the Pak military hunting you out to the Kashmir border to defend against India, then hit the capital Islamabad while everyone's worried about external threats and announce you're in charge?
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