Pathankot attack launched to sabotage Pak-India talks?

ISLAMABAD: Regional experts, struck by a long list of stage-managed activities by the Indian forces, believe that the Pathankot attack has been launched to sabotage the process of Pak-India talks. They wonder why such attacks always take place when there is international pressure on India to talk to Pakistan on all issues, including Kashmir, writes Waqar Ahmed.

The Indian stance on talks was forthcoming soon after the attack. According to the Indian media, “BJP on Saturday said that if the terror attacks in Pathankot were found to have been supported by the Pakistani establishment, making it clear any evidence of complicity of Pakistan’s state actors in the attack, will adversely impact the fresh peace initiative that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken with the neighbouring country.

According to sources, whether to go ahead with the talks now hinges on how much the Nawaz Sharif government cooperates with the Indian authorities in the aftermath of the attack. The party condemned the attack and congratulated the security forces for foiling the terror attack on the air base and said India was capable of giving a befitting reply to such attacks.” It seems the BJP’s congratulations to the Indian armed forces were rather premature.

Soon after the attack, it was also reported by the Indian media that “Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held a meeting with six former envoys to Pakistan in wake of the attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot. Those participating in the meeting were TCA Raghavan, who retired as India’s high commissioner to Pakistan last month, along with his predecessors Shyam Saran, Satindra Lambah, SS Menon, Satyadutt Pal, and Sharad Sabharwal. The meeting was held to discuss India’s strategy vis-a-vis Pakistan following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dramatic stopover in Lahore from Kabul to New Delhi on December 25 last year to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.”

It should be noted that all sections of the Pakistani government and establishment support the bilateral talks with India on all issues. While indicators are already there that future talks between Pakistan and India will be hurt by the recent development, international pressure on India to delink the talks with such stage-managed activities is likely to increase.