Take action against culprits

Attempts to scuttle peace process should be discouraged

While gathering solid proofs would take time, there is enough circumstantial evidence to link JeM with the Pathankot attack. The terrorists who snatched the Indian SP’s vehicle told one of their captives that they wanted to avenge Afzal Guru’s hanging. Those launching a simultaneous attack on Indian consulate in Mizar-e-Sharif scrawled ‘Afzal Guru has been avenged’ on the wall before dying. Afzal Guru was a major character in the attack on Indian Parliament by JeM that led to a prolonged eyeball to eyeball confrontation between the armies of Pakistan and India.

Nawaz Sharif has to take action now. The least Pakistan needs to do is to take into custody Masood Azhar and other prominent figures in the JeM and the groups appearing under different names after the organisation was banned. This will ensure that no accused person disappears or evidence is tampered with. This will also deter India from looking for options other than holding the Foreign Secretaries meeting. Once material evidence is available, the cases of those involved in planning, helping or financing the attack should be sent to anti-terrorist courts. The perpetrators might have received help from elements inside India. Tendency to shift the burden to secondary actors must however be checked.

Despite being banned way back in 2002, JeM’s leader re-emerged in public at a January 26, 2014, rally in Muzaffarabad, promising through a transmitted cell phone address from Bahawalpur “terrible revenge” against India for Guru’s hanging. He also said, “Let us aim guns at India first. We will move to Israel and US later.” Islamabad, however, looked the other way instead of acting responsibly to detain a man who declared his intention to use Pakistan and areas under its control as a launching pad for terrorist attacks inside other countries. After the agreement to discuss all outstanding issues including Kashmir was concluded in a meeting between the NSAs of Pakistan and India, it would be a violation of the understanding reached not to take urgent action against the culprits who carried out the horrendous act.