Slow progress on Pathankot

Filing of FIR is allegedly a condition set by Indians as essential to the resumption of foreign secretary-level talks

It appears that neither side is disputing that the attack on the Pathankot airbase in India had its origins in Pakistan. On January 2, a group of at least six gunmen crossed the perimeter of what was deemed a high-security airbase and proceeded to wreak havoc for three days. They killed seven Indian soldiers and wounded others. India claimed, very quickly, that the attack was carried out by the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and cited phone intercepts as evidence of links to Pakistan. The attack came at a crucial juncture in the bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan and was in all likelihood mounted with the sole intent of derailing the talks and taking both sides back to square one. As previously noted in these columns, this has not happened. Talks have been interrupted and briefly looked like they may be killed off by both sides, but wiser counsel prevailed. They are still alive and the investigation into what happened at Pathankot goes ahead — if painfully slowly.

An FIR has now been filed in Gujranwala by the Punjab counter-terrorism police citing unidentified suspects and significantly not naming the JeM nor does it name any leader of that organisation, which is known to be headquartered in Bahawalpur. The filing of the FIR is allegedly a condition set by the Indians as essential to the resumption of foreign secretary-level talks. The move is the product of talks between the National Security Advisers (NSA) of both countries, presumably tasked with crafting the modalities and protocols that will allow the talks to proceed, and in that sense, are to be welcomed.

It is now for Pakistan to proceed with the investigation with all speed, and any further foot-dragging or procrastination is going to be sending the wrong signal to India. The FIR once again brings into focus the presence of extremist groups in south Punjab. There has been persistent criticism of the government that its implementation of the National Action Plan has been highly selective, and that south Punjab in particular has enjoyed something close to immunity. Those concerns need to be addressed and dispelled, not only in pursuit of peace with India but in pursuit of peace within our own borders.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2016.

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