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| India-Pakistan |
| Attack on Pathankot air force base |
| 2016-01-04 |
| [DAWN] WHILE Pakistain-India ties are necessarily about a great deal more than terrorism, the latter is perhaps the one threat that can derail the relationship yet again. It is too early to know the facts about what transpired at an Indian air force base in Pathankot but already some challenges -- and opportunities for broadening and deepening anti-terrorism efforts -- can be identified. Firstly, the Pak government has done the right thing in quickly and unequivocally condemning the terror attack and offering its cooperation to India. Having suffered grievously from bully boy violence and having resolved to fight militancy in all its forms, Pakistain should rightly offer its support to any state confronting terror threats. It is a welcome change that Pakistain now officially and directly condemns terrorist attacks regionally and internationally and offers its assistance where necessary. The years of ambivalence appear to have been left behind. Yet, the challenges are formidable. The hostile reaction by much of the Indian media to the alleged involvement of Paks in the attack even before the barest facts could be established underlines just how difficult peacemaking will be. Courageously, however, the Indian government has appeared to resist media and hawkish pressure and declined to go into attack mode against Pakistain. It is all too easy to reap political capital in the midst of a major terrorist attack by targeting perceived external enemies. The preferable approach -- one that hopefully the Indian government will continue to adopt in the days ahead -- would be to quickly establish the facts. If no involvement of Pak nationals is found, the information should be shared with the Indian public. If Pak nationals are found to be involved in the attack, the information should be shared with Pak authorities as quickly as possible -- and reciprocal steps should be taken here. To thwart the political motives of terrorists, a sensible, cooperative approach by both governments should be key. Inside Pakistain, there needs to be some reflection. Has Pakistain's inability to deal adequately with India's concerns about the 2008 Mumbai attacks caused cynicism about Pak intentions and led to Indians being automatically suspicious of Pakistain whenever a terrorist attack occurs in their country? If so, does that not harm Pakistain's own interests? There is still too much defensiveness about the terrorism threat on the Pak side -- perhaps less so in the political government, but certainly in the military-led security establishment. There is no conceivable gain that Pakistain can make through terrorism when it comes to key disputes and issues with India. Not only is that abundantly clear outside the state apparatus, a generation of bigwigs, both military and civilian, have publicly and privately acknowledged and accepted that. If that is indeed the case, then Pakistain ought to lead confidently on the regional terrorist threat. No one -- at least no one credible -- can accuse the Pak state of not wanting to or failing to fight the banned TTP today. The day must come when the same can be said for all terror threats, internally, regionally and internationally. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 OTOH see DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Sputnik News]VIDEO: "INDIA, BANGLADESH, AND PAKISTAN WILL ALL BE UNITED UNDER NAME, ONE FLAG THAT IS PAKISTAN" -ZAID HAMID. Apparently We're-Supposed-to-be-the-World's-First-Islamic-Nuclear-Superpower-NOT-Iran PAKISTAN = ISLAMABAD GOVT. has decided the time is right for Nuke-Armed Pakistan to begin aggressively unilaterally asserting its rights and expanding its Milpol or Geopol influence both Regionally + Around the World ASAP AMAP ALAP AFAP. Seemingly in the SOUTHWARD STRATEGIC DIRECTION VEE INDIA + INDIA SUBCONTINENT, + WESTWARD VEE ARAB MIDDLE EAST, as Pakistan is hemmed in by THREE OWG CO-SUPERPOWERS INCLUD SSSHHH...CCCCCC PAK "BFF/Frenemy" + STRATEGIC PARTNER IRAN, + CHINA + RUSSIA IN West Asia??? Besides also NAVALLY e.g. recent Pak Navy NAVEXS wid India + Japan in SCS + Straits of Malaccas. INDIA must be feeling nervousy twitchy about what the NEAR-TERM FUTURE beholds - CHINA, ISIS/ISIL IN AFPAK + CENTRAL ASIA, + NEWLY MILPOL/GEOPOL AGGRESSIVE NUCLEAR PAKISTAN. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2016-01-04 21:00 |
| #2 Unaware, or unwilling. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-01-04 16:31 |
| #1 apparently this writer is unaware of the phone calls intercepted from their Pakistain handlers |
| Posted by: Frank G 2016-01-04 15:50 |