'Forces wary of Indo-Pak talks may be behind 13/7'

Dr Elliot Tepper, distinguished senior fellow, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in Carleton University, Ottawa, believes forces that do not want the ministerial-level talks between India and Pakistan to proceed are responsible for the July 13 Mumbai blasts.

Ministerial level talks between the two countries are scheduled for the last week of July. "Someone who does not want these talks to go ahead could be behind these blasts," he told India Abroad, pointing out that no one had claimed responsibility for the three blasts that had killed 24 people so far.

"But I am going to say these tragic events won't have any negative impact," he said.

"My view is whatever be the intent and whatever be the purpose behind these blasts, we don't know that now, we should keep three things in mind: First, that the commercial and economic life in Mumbai will not be seriously disrupted. Mumbai will resume its normal role very quickly. So, if the intention of the persons who perpetrated this was to disrupt the economy of India it is a failure," he said.

"The second point," Tepper said, "was that if the intention was to spread communal violence, the perpetrators of the blast had failed on that count, too."

"India has the level of maturity, flexibility and endurance that this series of blasts -- it was terrible and I share with everyone else my horror at this stupidity and violence -- won't lead to any outbreak of communal violence. If that was the intention, that too is a failure," he said.

He added that if the intention was to disrupt the talks between India and Pakistan that too 'will be a failure… The blasts will not have any political or economic impact.'

However, Tepper is "concerned that human loss continues through these wanton attacks on civilians and that the fact that civilians are attacked is not being addressed globally."

"We shouldn't accept this as normal," he said. "The scourge of terrorism affects all of us, but we shouldn't accept this as just another incident," he added.

Image: Dr Elliot Tepper