But action against the perpetrators should also be taken
Pakistan needs to realise that Pathankot attack has badly damaged the peace talks between the two countries. For the first time since coming to power the Modi government had agreed to initiate a ‘comprehensive dialogue’ that comprised all the issues, along with Kashmir, included in the earlier ‘composite dialogue’. This was widely hailed as a victory for peace. The attack on Pathankot has put the issue of terrorism on the top of the agenda, leading New Delhi to predicate the scheduled Foreign Secretary level talks on Pakistan’s response to the attack. Pakistan’s foreign friends who had put pressure on India to agree to dialogue have strongly condemned the attack and called upon Pakistan to conduct a thorough probe.
Peace with India is an issue on which there is a broad unanimity between the government and the opposition. With Lt General (retd) Naseer Khan Janjua acting as NSA, a perception exists that the government and the army too are on the same page and that henceforth both Pakistan and India would pursue the resolution of the Kashmir dispute through peaceful dialogue. The Indian side has named four persons as handlers of the attackers and shared some evidence with its Pakistani counterparts. Islamabad has reportedly handed over the evidence to DG Intelligence Bureau while seeking more conclusive evidence from India. Meanwhile, those named need to be taken into custody to ensure that any possible evidence is not lost.
The probe by Pakistan has not only to be transparent and efficient but also widely seen to be so. One expects the Indian agencies also to fully cooperate with their Pakistani counterparts. Both sides should ensure that delays of the type that held up the prosecution of suspected handlers of Mumbai terror attack do not take place this time. The comprehensive dialogue, meanwhile, should remain uninterrupted as agreed between the two countries. As former Indian NSA Shivshankar Menon has put it, six terrorists shouldn’t stop you from talking.