Pakistan’s primary concern in its relations with India at the moment is to ensure that the proposed talks between the Prime Ministers of the two countries in September are not jettisoned on account of the foul mood generated here in the wake of the recent killing of Indian soldiers on our side of the LoC in Poonch.
The soothing words from former foreign secretary Shaharyar Khan, now foreign affairs adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on the Dawood Ibrahim issue in London on Friday is to be seen in this light.
Mr Khan means well, as does his leader. However, it has been made clear by the Pakistan Army that normality should not be permitted to define India-Pakistan relations, and it is the Army that counts in that country. The undertone of hostility has been pronounced since the beheading of Indian soldiers on the Indian side of the LoC in January. Since then ceasefire violations as well as the pushing in of terrorist infiltrators across the LoC have registered sharp escalation, the Indian consulate in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan was attacked and Indian troops have been ambushed and killed on our side of the LoC.
As though Pakistan was trying to address an important Indian concern in a bid to salvage the September talks, Mr Khan said that the gangster-smuggler-terrorist financier Dawood Ibrahim had been “chased out” of Pakistan and was probably in the UAE. If this is indeed true, India should have been apprised of the welcome development when it took place, and offered reasonable proof of Pakistan no longer sheltering one of the world’s most wanted men who has made it his mission to target India. Since this did not happen, it is reasonable to suppose that the criminal is free to enter and leave Pakistan at will, with the ISI offering facilitation.
As matters stand, the only element of solace to be found in Mr Khan’s observation is the indirect admission that Pakistan did indeed shelter the Mumbai-origin gangster in spite of glib denials. In the wake of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, India had asked Pakistan to proceed against the perpetrators, to repatriate Dawood Ibrahim and to adhere to its 2003 commitment to maintain ceasefire on the LoC and its 2004 assurance not to permit Pakistan-controlled territories to be used for terrorist assaults against India. None of this materialised. Indeed, Hafiz Saeed, the inspiration behind the Mumbai attacks and arch anti-India ideologue, was calmly permitted by the authorities to lead Id prayers in Lahore on Friday.
Mr Sharif’s government should show it cares for ties with India before its appeal for talks at the highest level will carry credibility.