It won't matter much to India that Pakistani intelligence had no hand in the Mumbai attacks. This is because there appear to be either rogue elements within the ISI or elements that give the ISI leadership plausible deniability with close connections to the terrorist group responsible for the massacre:


The New York Times:

American officials say there is no hard evidence to link the spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, to the Mumbai attacks. But the ISI has shared intelligence with Lashkar and provided protection for it, the officials said, and investigators are focusing on one Lashkar leader they believe is a main liaison with the spy service and a mastermind of the attacks.

As a result of the assault on Mumbai, India’s financial hub, American counterterrorism and military officials say they are reassessing their view of Lashkar and believe it to be more capable and a greater threat than they had previously recognized.

“People are having to go back and relook at all the connections,” said one American counterterrorism official, who was among several officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still progressing.

Pakistani officials have denied any government connection to the siege on Nov. 26-29, in which nine gunmen and 163 other people were killed. A Pakistani official confirmed on Sunday that security forces had initiated an operation against at least one Lashkar camp.

The Associated Press, citing militants and an unidentified senior official, reported Monday from Islamabad, Pakistan, that Pakistani troops had seized a former Lashkar camp, in the Pakistani part of Kashmir, that is now used by the group’s charity wing, Jamaat-ud-Dawa. “More than 12 people” were arrested, The Associated Press said.

Pakistan is, in many respects, a police state. The army's state security apparatus is very good at keeping tabs on extremists as well as political enemies. It just doesn't pass the smell test that Pakistani officials were completely oblivious to the plans of Lashkar. Unfortunately (or fortunately for world peace), it would be almost impossible to prove.

Pakistan knows where these people are. They identified them long ago. But as long as they were not a threat to Pakistan, they were allowed to do pretty much anything they pleased. Now the pressure is on and they attack a camp used by Lashkar as a charity front? They knew the camp was previously used to train Lashkar operatives but waited until now to act?

Keeping a lid on this situation is going to be very difficult unless the Pakistanis are more forthcoming about Lashkar and other groups who threaten India.