Pakistan, July 10 -- Operation Hard Ball-a law enforcement crackdown carried out by Canadian and U.S. authorities-has done what years of Indian diplomatic messaging sought to prevent: it has placed India's criminal-security crisis before the world. On July 7, the US Department of Justice announced a multinational crackdown involving law enforcement in the United States, Canada and Europe. Twenty-four defendants were arrested, 11 of them in California. Altogether, 37 defendants were charged across three federal indictments linked to three India-based transnational organised crime formations: the Bishnoi Enterprise, the Bhagwanpuria Enterprise and the Dhanda Network.

This is not a small gang story. Nor should New Delhi be allowed to bury i...