The Times of India posits that the Taliban attack on the Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan was timed to scuttle Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif's attendance of Modi's inauguration. The attack came just days after Modi invited all SAARC leaders, including Sharif, for his swearing-in ceremony in a gesture that signals his desire to build better relations with all neighbors.
However, the Taliban attack and the support that Taliban is known to enjoy from Pakistani agencies
AKA the inner ISI
indicates the complexity of dealing with India's western neighbour. It makes plain that there are many players in Pakistan who are inimical to any kind of normalization of ties between the two countries. To that extent, it also reduces Modi's elbow room for his diplomatic outreach to Islamabad.
Coming amid indications that Nawaz Sharif was veering round to attending Modi government's inauguration on Monday, the Herat attack was also seen as a warning to the Pakistani government not to warm up to India. LET chief Hafiz Saeed
amir of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah which, with the help of Pakistan's ISI, spawned the jihadist group Lashkar-e-Taiba
publicly warned Sharif that a visit to India would be a betrayal of the Kashmir cause. "What will you (Sharif) answer the Kashmiris if you go to India?" he said.
That we are going to work with India to stimulate the economy so that you can improve your standard of living. Terrorism sure hasn't helped you.