With terrorist strikes taking place whenever the Indian and Pakistani leadership tries to normalise relations between the two countries, Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag on Wednesday said Pakistan’s Army has often tried to derail the peace process.
On being asked about the Pakistani Army’s role in fomenting terrorism in India with the objective of scuttling peace talks, Gen Suhag
said the Pakistani Army “has done it a number of times in the past.”
Addressing the annual Press conference ahead of Army Day on January 15, the Army chief said the Government has provided evidence of involvement of Pakistani nationals in the Pathankot attack.
Asked how far India could trust Pakistan, Suhag said, “We should wait and see. Hopefully, they should be acting on it (evidence).”
Without directly holding Pakistan responsible for the attack, Gen Suhag said he had himself seen evidence of involvement of Pakistani nationals and said, “It was obvious they came from there (Pakistan). I saw the evidence, like Pakistani markings on medicine packs, when I visited Pathankot airbase after the operation was over.”
Regarding the role of the Pakistani Army in aiding terrorism, Gen Suhag said it was a good sign that other countries were raising questions about it. He made these remarks in context of reports about top Afghanistan police officers asserting that Pakistani military officers were involved in the attack on the
Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif. Militants had attempted to storm the consulate and Afghan official said the attackers were from Pakistani military and used special tactics while conducting the operation.
The Army chief also said terror infrastructure in Pakistan was active, adding, at least 17 terrorist training camps were functioning across the line of Control. “Earlier, the number of terror camps was 42 and many of them were forced to close down due to international pressure,” he said.