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Cross-Border Terrorism And Pakistan’s International Liability After The 26/11 Mumbai Attacks: Media, Information War And Politics Of Accountability




Samhith, Alliance University, Bengaluru


ABSTRACT


The series of attacks on Mumbai on 26th of November 2008 were a major for cross border terrorism and also posed serious questions of state responsibility at international law. The attacks were primarily carried out by the non- state group called as Lashkar-e-Taiba; however, it is alleged that the entire operation was planned, trained, financed, and coordinated from Pakistani territory. This article evaluates whether such situations would impose international responsibility on Pakistan, under the system of the International Law Commission’s ARSIWA. It mainly deals with the principles of attribution, effective control, and due diligence, and ascertains whether the behavior in question constitutes an internationally wrongful act.


The research is based on doctrinal analysis of law and the materials of primary legal sources such as UN Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 1456, the International Convention regarding suppression of financing the terror acts which was held in 1999, the SAARC convention which was about regional convention on terrorist suppression, and ICJ jurisprudence such as the Nicaragua and Corfu Channel cases. Besides that, a qualitative analytical method is also used to analyse documents like the Government of Indias 2009 Dossier, David Headleys testimony, FATF grey, listing developments, and media reports. Further, the literature comprises writings of Rishi Gulati, Chanda and Verma, Husain et al., the OHCHR Fact Sheet on terrorism and human rights, and the UNODC counter, terrorism module.


The results show that in terms of effective control standards, there are a lot of grounds for direct attribution or, alternatively, for liability due to the failure to exercise due diligence. Nonetheless, the article argues that even if it is the fact that it is a significant matter of legal responsibility, the practical enforcement of these rights is, however, limited by the geopolitical realities, dynamics of the Security Council, and strategic information warfare.


Keywords: Cross-Border Terrorism; Pakistan State Responsibility; ARSIWA; Due Diligence; 26/11 Mumbai Attacks; Information Warfare.



Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research

Abbreviation: IJLLR

ISSN: 2582-8878

Website: www.ijllr.com

Accessibility: Open Access

License: Creative Commons 4.0

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All research articles published in The Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research are fully open access. i.e. immediately freely available to read, download and share. Articles are published under the terms of a Creative Commons license which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

 

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The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the IJLLR or its members. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IJLLR.

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