Far reaching implications?
The helicopter crash in Gilgit, which took the lives of Norwegian and Philippines ambassadors, the wives of Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, along with two pilots and a crew member, has put Pakistan in an extremely awkward position. A number of other ambassadors were also on board, including a few injured from the crash. It is also learnt that the prime minister was also en route to the same destination, although on a different aircraft, and his flight had to be diverted back to the capital.
Incidentally, the Taliban were quick to try to exploit the situation to their advantage by claiming the hit. And, adding more intrigue to the tragedy, they also claimed targeting Nawaz Sharif himself. But the claim is absurd. The region is nowhere near the Taliban’s centre of influence. And it was no doubt thoroughly swept before the high profile visit. Also, neither survivors from the crash nor witnesses on the ground noticed any shoulder fired rockets hitting the chopper. And the Taliban have been known to pull such stunts in the past. Often enough they have taken credit for attacks that were not their doing.
But that only increases the need for a thorough investigation into the affair. It’s bad enough that precious lives have been lost. But it is far worse that a number of foreign ambassadors were caught in the crash. Thankfully, the international community has accepted the government’s position that this was an accident, not a planned hit. If the Taliban were indeed involved, Pakistan would have faced unrelenting international pressure which would have put it in very bad light. Hopefully relevant authorities will probe the accident, and ensure such tragedy is not repeated. Pakistan has put a lot in its fight against terrorism, and things have turned around since Zarb-e-Azb took off. There is a need to highlight the positive aspects of this fight and make sure the enemy is not allowed to exaggerate its influence.