Staged encounter: India’s terror boat drama vindicates Pakistan: FO

Islamabad hails New Delhi’s decision to send its foreign secretary for talks

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Friday said it stands vindicated in the “terror boat drama” staged by India on the first day of 2015, reiterating that neither was any of its boats missing nor was there any evidence to suggest that the vessel blown up by Indian coast guards was Pakistani.

“Having remained shrouded in mystery since day one, the drama of the so-called terror boat is now unfolding. The latest Indian media reports actually confirmed our findings,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told reporters at a weekly media briefing.

On January 1, Indian Coast Guard patrol vessels allegedly intercepted ‘a suspicious Pakistani boat’ in the Arabian Sea, thwarting what the Indian security establishment said could have been another attempt to unleash a Mumbai-style terror attack.

At the time, Indian officials claimed that four men on board the vessel set it ablaze after an hour-long ‘hot pursuit’ by the Coast Guard. But on Wednesday Coast Guard’s DIG BK Loshali contradicted the official version saying he had ordered the boat to be blown up.

Loshali was heard in a video saying, “Hope you remember 31st night... we blew off the Pakistan. I was in Gandhinagar and I told at night ... blow the boat off.” The video was released by the Indian Express after Loshali denied a report published by the newspaper and claimed that he was misquoted.

“We have noted the statements, their retractions, confusion and controversies that this trigger-happy episode has created in India,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said.

Indian foreign secretary’s visit

The spokesperson said Pakistan welcomed India’s decision to send its foreign secretary to Islamabad for talks. “The dates and agenda is yet to be finalised,” she added.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif earlier this month and told him that his foreign secretary would soon visit Islamabad. Modi’s move came a day after US President Barack Obama telephoned Nawaz.

Pakistan believes the lingering disputes between Pakistan and India need to be resolved through dialogue for peace, stability and prosperity in the region, Tasnim said. “We have never shied away from engaging with India.”

Commenting on the track-II initiatives between India and Pakistan, the spokesperson confirmed that former national security adviser Lt Gen (retd) Durrani was in India.  “While track-II efforts are positive, they cannot replace formal and structured talks between Pakistan and India. We believe that the issues between the two countries need to be resolved through dialogue. This is vital for peace and prosperity in the region,” she emphasised.

On the anniversary of the Samjhauta incident, the spokesperson reiterated Pakistan’s demand that the Indian government expeditiously conclude the investigations and punish the perpetrators.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2015.