NEW YORK, Dec 18: A panel discussion titled “Understanding Mumbai Attacks” at New York’s Asia Society on Wednesday evening became a one-sided Pakistan bashing event, with writer Salman Rushdie taking the lead in berating Pakistan and its ruling “elite”.

Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United Nations Munir Akram had been invited as one of the panelists but he was suddenly taken off the panel to make it a one-sided affair.

Mr Akram told Pakistani reporters that he had accepted to be on the panel to defend his country, but a day before the discussion he was informed that the format had been changed. He was told that he would not be on the panel but that he could speak from the floor when called upon to do so. That arrangement was not acceptable to Mr Akram and he withdrew his name.

Besides Rushdie, authors Mira Kamdar and Suketu Mehta were the other two panelists at the discussion organised jointly by the Asia Society, the South Asian Journalist Association and the Indo-American Arts Council. Vishakha Desai, an Indian-American, is the president of Asia Society.

“The headquarters of the Al Qaeda, the headquarters of the Taliban, the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad is in the world centre of terrorism — Pakistan,” Rushdie told a packed auditorium of the Asia Society while participating in the discussion.

“All the roads of world terrorism lead to Pakistan,” he said.

The three Indian authors severely criticised Pakistan, accusing its leadership of not taking any action against terrorists and denying that those responsible for the Mumbai strike were Pakistanis despite “credible proof”.

Rushdie also lambasted the Bush administration for handing over billions of dollars in aid without ensuring that Pakistan was really fighting terrorism. “We have treated Pakistan with velvet gloves and what we have got in result is zero.”

Mehta called for declaring ISI a terrorist outfit, saying, “They are behind the attack on Indian Embassy in Kabul. They are behind the attacks in Bombay. They should be banned first and foremost for the sake of Pakistan itself.”

Many Pakistanis in New York are questioning the wisdom of Asia Society management to hold such a discussion which at the end became a Pakistan-bashing fest without inviting a credible voice from Pakistan to explain Pakistan’s position.