Don’t stop

We hope that the Indian linkage between the Pathankot attack and talks with Pakistan will not lead to any delay or disruption in the scheduled meeting between the foreign secretaries of both countries on January 15. Pakistan has done well to try and ensure this, with the PM chairing a top-level meeting on Friday, attended by the COAS and every top official in the country, to assure India of full cooperation and propose that talks proceed on schedule. This is the right way forward. We hope India reciprocates. New Delhi has said that an investigation should take place into the attack on the military base on the basis of evidence it says it has provided to Pakistan. Pakistan has said that this evidence, in the form of phone call intercepts, phone numbers and the possible locations from where these were made has been received. But, for now, it is really too early to say what this evidence will amount to when pieced together.

Naturally, it will take some time to determine all this. Pakistan must work to ensure it goes ahead with the investigation and that this enquiry is as open and transparent as is possible in what is an undoubtedly sensitive manner. We hope both countries manage to avoid the kind of problem that arose after the 2008 siege of Mumbai when India was alleged to have given insufficient ‘evidence’, and Pakistan was alleged to have failed to follow up on that evidence. The pattern behind the Pathankot attack has been seen in the past, with elements on both sides eager to disrupt the negotiation process whenever it appears the two countries are moving closer on issues.

Till some findings and some solid reports are in place, it will be very hard to say anything at all. For these reasons, the investigation process must not be tied in to the January 15 dialogue. It is essential that this dialogue go ahead as planned. If it does not, huge damage will be inflicted; this must be avoided at all costs. We need true sincerity of purpose on both sides. Without this, we will continue to follow the stop-and-go practice we have been seeing again and again with nothing solid emerging because there are those who succeed in halting progress – something mere cosmetic gestures cannot change.