Hoax call to Zardari "put Pakistan on war alert"

[Macs.]

Hoax call to Zardari "put Pakistan on war alert"
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan put its forces on high alert after someone pretending to be India's foreign minister made a phone call to President Asif Ali Zardari threatening war after the Mumbai attacks began, Dawn newspaper said on Saturday.


"It's true," a diplomat with knowledge of the exchanges told Reuters when asked whether the report was correct.


Dawn said the Dec. 28 caller threatened military action unless Pakistan acted immediately against the perpetrators of the slaughter in Mumbai, launched two days earlier.


For the next 24 hours nuclear-armed Pakistan's air force was put on "highest alert" as the military watched anxiously for any sign of Indian aggression, the report said.


Tensions have been running high since India blamed Islamist militants based in Pakistan for the three-day rampage in its financial capital, which killed 171 people.


"War may not have been imminent, but it was not possible to take any chances," Dawn quoted a Pakistani official as saying.
http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-36906020081206

Holy ****... Glad they have some Nukes and high teach weapons. :roll:

India and Pakistan don't even have a clear/secure line for communication ?!?

[Fade]

Prank calls possibly leading to nuclear war....this is not confidence inspiring.

[Mackie]

Ring ring!!!!
"Hello?"
"India here. We will kill you now!"

Boom!


Unbelievable. Like kids, don't know how to handle their toys.

[Ichabod]

Ring ring!!!!
"Hello?"
"India here. We will kill you now!"

Boom!


Unbelievable. Like kids, don't know how to handle their toys.

Ring ring!!!

''Yes?''
''This is Pranab speaking,we know who is behind the attacks in Mumbai,if you do not act we will!''
''Wat? i Really don't thin....
''Silence...i kill you''

[Zathras]

In this article pakis denied that it could have been a hoax.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7769297.stm

[gazell]

"It's true,"

How sad.

[Snoshi]

Ebaumsworld?

[gazell]

Ebaumsworld?

Can't source proof but it surely stinks. Provides an excuse to shout back at any rate.

When does a country prepare for war on what it calls a 'bogus call'?

[Limeyfellow]

I am still surprised they could so easily call the President of Pakistan to tell him this. How are you supposed to suddenly call up a world leader and expect to go right through?

It bad enough when Canadian DJs pretend to be the French president and phone potential vice presidents in the US up. You would expect more layers around an actual sitting president in a time of crisis.

[Snoshi]

I am still surprised they could so easily call the President of Pakistan to tell him this. How are you supposed to suddenly call up a world leader and expect to go right through?

Search hes name in Skype?

[Zathras]

looks like none of u read the article i posted, doubt it was a fake.

[redhawk_six]

Of course Pakistan denies the call was fake, they don't want to look like idiots. The Reuters report in the first post offers a lot more evidence then your BBC article, which only offers offical statements from the government.

[Angelino]

Wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened. During the middle of the cold war, the one and only Steve Wozniak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak) called up the Pope in the Vatican and claimed he was Henry Kissinger, with a message from President Nixon. He nearly made it through, until a sharp-eared Bishop got suspicious and insisted on talking in German, which the Woz didn't speak.

One of Woz's friends (and future Apple employee) was a guy called John Draper, who was better known to phreakers as Captain Crunch. The Captain once managed to get hold of the White House crisis line and figured out the code word to summon President Nixon on the line. He then called him up and claimed that they had a "crisis" in Los Angeles. When the president demanded to know what "the crisis" was, he claimed that they were all out of toilet paper. Apparently the Woz was very jealous of this prank for a very long time.

[Hennie the Great]

Oke who is going to call Ahmadinejad!?

[Daft Ego]

I blame 4chan.

[Sana Saudagar]

‘Hoax call’ part of Pak’s diversionary tactics: Pranab

New Delhi, Dec 07: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday lashed out at Pakistan over the issue of a reported ‘threatening’ hoax call by the ‘Indian Foreign Minister’ to President Asif Ali Zardari, terming it as a diversionary tactic of the western neighbour.

Expressing concern over the development, Mukherjee said that he is worried that Pakistan thought of acting on the call in a way one prepares for war. He further said that Pakistan was trying to confuse people about the hoax call.

The minister clarified that he has not had any conversation with Zardari since May 2008, and expressed surprise that he came to know about the call from a friend of a third country.

On Saturday, a Pakistani newspaper reported that India's Foreign Minister spoke to President Asif Ali Zardari in a threatening manner on November 28, two days after the attacks on Mumbai began, forcing the nuclear-armed nation to put its forces on high alert.

A Pakistani diplomat, with knowledge of the exchanges when asked whether the newspaper report was correct, said, "It's true."

Throughout the next 24 hours Pakistan's Air Force was put on "highest alert" as the military watched anxiously for any sign of Indian aggression.

The newspaper reported that the caller, posing as Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, also tried to telephone US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but due to specific checks by US officials the call was not put through.

http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2008-12-07/489073news.html

[Kilgor]

"why you kick my dog...."