'Mumbai II could lead to a full-blown Indo-Pak war'

As US observes the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, a reputed Washington-based research group today warned that a repeat of 26/11 strikes may lead to a “full-blown” Indo-Pak war. Preventing Mumbai-II from occurring remains a major foreign policy challenge for the US, the report said.

“One of the more predictable foreign policy challenges of the next years is a ‘Mumbai II’: a large-scale attack on a major Indian city by a Pakistani militant group that kills hundreds,” said the 42-page report from the Bipartisan Policy Centre’s National Security Preparedness Group, a Washington-based research group.

Authored by Peter Bergen and Bruce Hoffman, the report “Assessing the Terrorist Threat” appreciated the considerable restraint shown by India in its reaction to the provocation of the Mumbai attacks in 2008.