The attack on the Pathankot air force base by terrorists suspected to be members of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, raises questions about the Indo-Pak dialogue that is being proactively promoted by the two nations. Recently, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi made an unscheduled visit to Lahore on the occasion of prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s birthday. Modi received brickbats from within the country but US President Obama hailed Modi’s visit as an attempt to build peace in the sub-continent. The Pathankot attack has claimed the lives of at least seven security personnel on the Indian side. Advisories have been issued to the North Eastern states to remain vigilant against similar attacks. This region being a hotbed of insurgency with most of the outfits aided and abetted by agent provocateurs from neighbouring countries, there is a real fear that such attacks could happen on the eastern borders as well. However, terrorism demands that India be in a state of eternal vigilance and preparedness because the country is vulnerable to attacks from different quarters.
The Indian Air Force has downplayed the seriousness of the Pathankot incident stating that there was prior intelligence inputs about a probable attack. This statement is somewhat contradictory considering that it has taken over 24 hours for the Indian side to locate the terrorists inside the Pathankot air base and to engage them. Preparedness would have meant that the terrorists would not have been able to enter this sensitive air base just 40 kilometres away from the Pakistan border. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj has held consultations with former Pakistan foreign secretaries and ex-envoys to arrive at a strategy after the Pathankot attack. Nawaz Sharif has also condemned the Pathankot assault in no uncertain terms, coming as it does barely a week after Modi’s goodwill visit to Pakistan. This is Pakistan’s predicament. The ISI and other terror outfits are hell bent on poisoning the relations between the two countries. It serves them well to have India and Pakistan continue as arch enemies. But this blatant attempt to create schisms in Indo-Pak relations should not be allowed to sour the present initiatives to hold regular dialogues for ending terrorism in the sub-continent.