Pakistan is back to its old tricks where dealing with masterminds of terror attacks on Indian soil is concerned. One week has passed since Pakistan-trained terrorists attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, but Pakistan is yet to take concrete action on the ground.
While Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has held two high-level meetings to discuss India’s demands of action against the perpetrators of the Pathankot attack, so far he has not given any indication of acting against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Azhar Masood, who has emerged as the brains behind the attack.
On Friday, Sharif did order a probe based on the “leads” provided by India with officials in Islamabad saying that the Government is “reviewing progress” on the clues given by India, but so far no arrests, or detentions have taken place in Pakistan. Meanwhile, a Pakistani official said that the leads provided by India
so far were “sketchy” and more material was needed to detain the presumed perpetrators of the crime.
India has identified Masood and his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar as the main handlers and the brains behind the attack and provided irrefutable proof against them to Pakistan. The terror attack on the Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif too is linked to JeM. But, despite India seeking “firm and immediate action,” from Pakistan, a crackdown is yet to take place. India, had given evidence to Pakistan at the initial levels of the probe. Apart from call details, phone numbers, GPS co-ordinates and voice data too have been shared with Pakistan. Sources said that this initial evidence is enough for Islamabad to take action.
A Pakistani official told the media in Islamabad that the information provided by India was “not enough” as it was just limited to telephone numbers and Pakistan might ask for additional information. “We would like to have solid information to build a case for action otherwise if courts intervene, the suspects will be bailed out,” he said.
Pakistan’s ambivalence is akin to its response on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in which, despite being given concrete evidence and a visit by a Pakistani Judicial Commission, Islamabad has not concluded its trial. The main culprit Zakiur-Rehman lakhvi of the lashkar-e-Tayyeba and mastermind Hafiz Saeed roam freely in Pakistan.
“Now the ball is in Pakistan’s court. Pakistan has to respond positively to continue the bilateral talks. If Pakistan wants to continue talks, it has to take steps to curb the terrorist activities, which are harming our country, from its soil,” Union Minister of law and Justice D V Sadananda Gowda said.
Meanwhile, the United States of America has said it expects Pakistan to conduct a “thorough, complete, fair and transparent” investigation into the terror attack and that it is “looking forward” to seeing the results of the probe.
“We certainly look forward to and expect a thorough, complete, fair and transparent investigative process. We are going to have to let it work through. We look forward to seeing the results of their investigation. We would all like them to be done as quickly as possible and transparently discussed when it’s complete,” State Department spokesperson John Kirby said.