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| Image: Flickr User - MEAphotogallery |
By Sumit Kumar
Events in the wake of the attack leave some room for hope.
In early hours of January 2, terrorists attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, killing seven Indian soldiers. Timely retaliation by Indian forces resulted in all six terrorists killed, preventing the greater devastation that could have occurred if the terrorists had been able to reach the high-value strategic assets they were targeting.
Media reports in the wake of the attack suggested that the terrorists received clandestine support from Pakistan. India Today has claimed that “the brazen attack was carried out on the behest of Pakistani’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).” Other reports have suspected the involvement of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad. The Hindustan Times and other Indian newspapers have reported that phone calls made by the terrorists were intercepted, and were made to Bahawalpur in Pakistan, the hometown of Jaish chief Maulana Nasood Azhar.
Experts in India feel that the heavily armed terrorists would not have been able to carry out the attack without the full knowledge and support of the Pakistani military and the ISI. G. Parthsarathy, former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, said on an NDTV program that it would be naïve to believe the argument that the attackers were rogue elements or non-state actors.
In fact, while welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore, many security experts and former diplomats had cautioned India to be ready to deal with an adverse situation like the Kargil War, which took place following the Lahore Summit of 1999. At the same time, there was apprehension among the Indian strategic community that the Pakistani Army would not have taken kindly to Modi’s oblique reference to Pakistani as a sponsor of terrorism in Afghanistan in his address to the Afghan parliament on December 25. The fears may well have been justified, given Pathankot and the subsequent attack on the Indian consulate in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. At any rate, the incidents refute any belief that the Pakistani military is supporting Prime Minister Nawaz Sarif in his endeavor to improve ties with India.
Read the full story at The Diplomat