By Lt. General P.C. Katoch Former Director General of Information Systems, Indian Army

Just as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar accused Pakistan of “pretending to sleep” and not being serious about the probe into the Pathankot airbase terror attack, came the terrorist attack in Pampore where this time four heavily armed terrorists holed up in a multi-storey government building that led to an encounter lasting almost 48 hours. As per indications, the Pampore terrorist attack was the handiwork of the ISI backed LeT. As to the Patahnkote terrorist attack on the IAF airbase, the Pakistani SIT has absolved JeM Chief Azhar Masood of any involvement in the Patahnkot attack. Pakistan has gone ahead and filed an FIR against “unknown persons” despite all the evidence given by India, and has signaled that the Pakistani SIT wants to come to India for joint investigation. Parrikar has made it clear that they will not be permitted to enter the airbase that was targeted. Seeing no further response from India, Pakistan is now sending unofficial signals that Azhar Masood has been placed in protective custody, which means precious little especially when Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the main accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack though is given the red carpet in custody and freely hobnobs with the military and terrorists, as reported in the Pakistani media.

In between came the news about Nawaz Sharif accepting that the occupation of Kargil by Pakistani troops in the year 1999 was a misadventure and a stab in the back for the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, especially when the two countries were involved in a peace process at Lahore. But the fact is that Nawaz Shariff was also the Prime Minister in 1999 during the Kargil intrusions and though he says he was unaware of what Musharraf was up to, it is not possible he did not know the ground situation with the Intelligence Bureau directly under him and every Pakistani PM wary of a military coup that could unseat him anytime. More significantly, Nawaz should have mentioned this to PM Modi when he made a surprise stopover at Lahore on his way back from Afghanistan and visited Nawaz’s ancestral house. But what Nawaz says or does not say is not very material since power is concentrated in the hands of Army Chief Raheel Sharif who may serve beyond his three year term finishing in November 2016 without the need to announce any extension because the Pakistani media is reporting government contemplating tenure of all army chiefs be raised from three to four years. Farhan Bokhari writing from Karachi says, Pakistan’s military has always been powerful, launching three coups in the country’s 68-year history, and is often spoken of as the real power in the land. But over the course of 2015, General Raheel Sharif increasingly overshadowed the country’s civilian government.” So this rule of army chief serving for four years may well come much before November 2016 for the poltical hierarchy would be hard pressed not to upset the applecart and endanger themselves. More importantly, Raheel Sharif continues to be the favourite of the Obama administration who have decided to sell eight F-16 Block-52 aircraft to Pakistan. It belies the hope that the US actually wants to upgrade strategic ties with India beyond the money US firms can make with India opening up to foreign investment in all sectors and cooperation by India on the high seas.

The US sales to Pakistan includes: eight F-16 Block-52 aircraft - two C and six D and models with the F100-PW-229 increased performance engine; 14 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems; eight AN/APG-68(V)9 radars; and eight ALQ-211(V)9 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suit. This despite Bob Corker, Chairman US Senate Foreign Relations Committee writing to John Kerry, Secretary of State objecting to this proposed sale. The US knows full well these F-16s will actually be used for operations against India and Afghanistan or mainly the hapless Balochis where Pakistan has been launching genocide past years and US has turned a blind eye to even discovery of mass graves indicating gross human rights violations. The terrorist attack in Pampore apart, other indications coming from Pakistan are as negative, some of which are: intelligence report that multiple Twitter accounts of Hafiz Saeed are being managed by the ISI; personal security of the Prosecutor in the 26/11 trial has been withdrawn forcing him to opt out since the previous Prosecutor was gunned down halting further proceedings; links of ISI backed terrorist links with some educational institutions in India being exploited; and, Abdul Basit, Pakistani High Commissioner at New Delhi continuing to entertain Hurriyat hardliners in the High Commission. In a fresh bout of hostility, Pakistan forced FICCI to cancel an exhibition it had planned to in Lahore. Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Gautam Bambawale, had recently stated that the Indo-Pak talks were not linked to the Pathankot terrorist attack. But that was before the terrorist attack at Pampore. All said and done the message from Pakistan is loud and clear you can talk when you want but we will continue to terrorize you.