Mumbai Bombing Update

The Times of India is reporting that two people have confessed to the bombings of the commuter trains in Mumbai.

ON BOARD AIR INDIA ONE: Minutes after Air India One, the special aircraft carrying the PM to St Petersburg entered the airspace of Uzbekistan, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan handed over to Manmohan Singh a one-page note. It contained the confessions by two Pakistani fidayeen who have blasted a huge hole in Pakistan's protestations of innocence about ISI's involvement in last week's terror assault on Mumbai. This will give a major boost to the PM's plan to lobby world leaders for coming down hard on the sponsors of terrorism.

The two members of the jehadi suicide squad were arrested by security forces from central India, most probably from Madhya Pradesh, and have since provided significant details about the Mumbai mayhem as well as the larger anti-India terror campaign that ISI has assigned to favourite jehadi gang, Lashkar-e-Taiba. The arrests are described as "a significant catch".

Sources said the terrorists' disclosures will help the PM secure the support of leaders of the G-8 nations, as well as those of China, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Congo and Kazakhastan who are going to be there at St Petersburg for an "outreach session" against Pakistan sponsored terrorism. The PM indicated so much even before being apprised of the details of the confessions by the two jehadis by Narayanan.

He said he'd use the interactions to sensitise the world leaders to India's concerns about terrorism. Describing terrorism as a scourge that afflicts different parts of the world, Singh said: "I'd like leaders to stand united in the war against terror."

The PM's interaction with the media brought out his growing frustration with Pakistan as well as General Pervez Musharraf. Stating that the terror attack in Mumbai could not have been accomplished without "external support", he said improvement in ties would not be possible in the face of continued terrorism.

This is not a good situation. We have two nuclear armed ostensible allies at each other's throats. Someone needs to step in here - that would be a hint to the White House.