A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

I know that I can sleep easy at night after reading this story. How about you?

South Asian regional tensions mounted last week after nuclear-armed Pakistan entered a state of "high alert" after receiving a phone call, now believed to be a hoax, from India's foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee to Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari the day that terrorist attacks on Mumbai concluded.

The caller allegedly threatened to attack Pakistan if measures were not taken to track down militants associated with the Mumbai terrorist strikes.

On Saturday, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported on the incident: "Whether it was mere mischief or a sinister move by someone in the Indian external affairs ministry, or the call came from within Pakistan, remains unclear, and is still a matter of investigation. But several political, diplomatic and security sources have confirmed to Dawn that for nearly 24 hours over the weekend the incident continued to send jitters across the world. To some world leaders the probability of an accidental war appeared very high."

Thanks for giving the entire world the warm fuzzies concerning the administration of your security and identity verification protocols, India and Pakistan. We really appreciate it.