The Indian government first placed the state of Gujarat and now capital city New Delhi on alert after receiving a tip-off from Pakistan that 10 militants, possibly belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed or Lashkar-e-Taiba, may have crossed the border into Gujarat. The Hindu festival of Mahashrivatri will be observed this week and so the Indian government has beefed up security at both temples and security installations. We cannot be sure how real this threat is but it is probably safer for Pakistan to pass on any information it gets, no matter how raw and unconfirmed the intelligence. Should we fail to do so and there is an attack in India that can be linked in any way to Pakistan, the Modi government is sure to scapegoat us and disrupt relations, perhaps indefinitely. As it is, the LeT – held responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks – and the JeM, believed to have carried out the Pathankot attack earlier this year, are particular bogeymen for the Indians and any possibility that they might be trying to enter Indian territory should be shared and investigated. Even if nothing comes up, there is no harm in greater cooperation between the two sides on such matters.
This is a crucial time for future ties between Pakistan and India. A three-man security team has just arrived in India to ensure that Pakistani cricketers will be provided the protection they need during the upcoming T20 World Championships. We are scheduled to play India in Dharamshala on March 19 and the Himachal Pradesh chief minister has been explicit in saying the Pakistan team will not be provided security if they were to play there. What the Indian-controlled ICC is doing on this issue is not clear but it is likely to dock points and levy a fine if the Pakistan side does not show up. This makes the assessment of the security team even more important. At the same time, India is continually pressing Pakistan to move forward with the investigation into the Pathankot attack and determine who in the JeM might have been behind it. The two countries have shown a determination over the years to slow down any investigation asked for by the other side while demanding immediate results for anything they want investigated. Perhaps, now that we have shared some intelligence with India about a possible attack, both countries might realise that there are some matters in which self-interest is mutual. http://thenews.com.pk/print/103614-Mutual-interests
Comments are closed.