Summary Pakistan has assured full cooperation to India regarding probe in Pathankot attack: FO
Dunya News Report (Madiha Fareed)
ISLAMABAD- The delayed talks between Foreign Secretaries now depend only on finalization of a date and not linked to Pakistan’s investigations in Patankot terrorist attack, said the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Nafees Zakaria during a weekly media briefing.
Answering the question about the impending Foreign-Secretary level talks, the spokesperson said that there are no obstacles in finalizing the bilateral dialogues and he added that a new date will be finalized soon. He said its only up to fixing a date now for the comprehensive talks. He referred to the Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale’s statement that the talks are not tied to Pakistan’s response regarding Pathankot Investigations.
Foreign Office spokesperson also informed the media that the Punjab government has constituted a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) as it was mandatory to probe further into the matter. The team will be headed by the same person who heads the six-member Special Investigative Team (SIT) bound to visit India next month.
When asked about the provocative remarks made by Indian Defence minister Manohar Parrikar, the spokesperson said that Pakistan s policy to eliminate terrorism within the country and our immense sacrifices have been acknowledged by the international community, including the US leadership and Pakistan’s intentions should not be doubted, adding that Pakistan does not support export of terrorism from its territory and is committed to deal with such elements with iron hands.
“Pakistan s sacrifices are unparalleled having lost more than sixty thousand innocent citizens, including more than five thousand valiant soldiers and law enforcement personnel, who laid their lives in the fight against terrorism. Therefore, there should be no doubt about Pakistan s total commitment to eliminate terrorism. Terrorism is not only Pakistan s problem but also of the region and the world, at large, for which all need to cooperate with each other”, said the spokesperson.
He also clarified the speculations regarding lodging the FIR that it is no way an admission that somehow Pakistan’s territory was used for planning of these attacks, It was a necessary step to start investigations in the legal ambit.
Pakistani Government on February 18th had lodged First Information Report (FIR) to commence formal investigation into Pathankot Incident. On January 2nd, an Indian Airbase in Pathankot was attacked by four terrorists. The incident left 7 Indian military personnel dead, while the attackers were also killed.
The Pathankot incident had also stymied the dialogue process between the two nuclear armed neighbors. The Foreign Secretary level talks were scheduled for mid-January 2016 but have been delayed and are yet to take place.
He clarified that no proposal is on the table regarding a Nawaz- Modi meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington DC by the end of March. But the possibility of the meeting is always on cards.
He refused to comment on the former CIA director Michael Hayden’s claim in his book “Playing to the Edge” that Gen. Shuja admitted ISI’s role in Mumbai attacks saying that the Mumbai Case is sub-judice and additional evidence is awaited form India to conclude the trial.
The spokesperson was asked about the progress on Investigations on Samjhuta Express terrorist attack and Pakistan’s reaction on India’s releasing the mastermind behind those attacks, he answered that Pakistan has repeatedly reminded India to take solid action against those involved in attacks.
By the looks of it, it is safe to say that Pakistan has cooperated fully with India regarding investigation in Pathankot incident. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been keen on improving relations with neighbor India and has shown that he is ready to go the extra mile if it means peace in the sub-continent; however the sentiment is not reciprocated by Indian side. Whenever an incident happens in India, their media and government officials are quick to blame Pakistan, especially Pakistan’s top Intelligence Agency ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) for exporting terrorism and harboring militant agencies like JeM.
It is high time that Pakistani Authorities figure out a direction for its foreign policy and set limits to how far it is willing to go to mend relations with the neighbors, because right now Pakistan’s only strategy seems to be of dancing to the tunes set by Indian side.
