Three Reasons Why Pakistan's Demand of ‘Actionable Intelligence’ on Pulwama Attack is Laughable

Toronto, February 20: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan made a strange statement with regards to the Pulwama terrorist attack that claimed the lives 44 Indian paramilitary soldiers. The statement is strange because Khan conveyed a variety of messages in his short statement but each part contradicted the other part of the message.

First the Pakistani Prime Minister denied that his country had anything to do with the terrorists, then he offered to ‘help’ if the Indian government provides any ‘actionable intelligence’ and lastly warned against any ‘adventurism or retaliation’. If he was offering to help then the message should not have been accompanied by a warning and if Pakistan had nothing to do with the terrorists that targeted the CRPF convoy then he should not expect any retaliation.

However, leaving language quibbles aside, Imran Khan’s offer of help falls flat for three reasons – Mumbai 26/11 attack, Uri Attack and Pathankot attack.

Mumbai 26/11 attacks saw ten terrorists trained and financed by the Pakistan’s ISI kill 166 innocents from 15 different countries – these included not just Indians but Americans, Britons and Jews. India has sent dossiers upon dossiers of evidence to Pakistan but the chief mastermind of the attack – Hafiz Saeed now roams free and even put up candidates in Pakistan’s general elections of 2018. Saeed’s chief operation planner Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi continues to meet Lashkar operatives while on bail while the man who handled the external operations Sajjid Mir has been given facial surgery and now has a new identity. All the others named by India remain scot-free.

The Pathankot Attack launched by six terrorists targeted the Pathankot Air Force Station part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force. Seven soldiers died in the attack but the preparation with which the terrorists targeted the air base showed extensive preparation and training. The attackers were carrying grenade launchers, 52 mm mortars, AK rifles, walkie-talkies and a GPS device. The terrorists also deployed IED at the site, along with contact made with certain handlers in Pakistan. Following this brazen attack, India allowed a Pakistani team to visit the air base and collect ‘first-hand evidence.’ The net result was that Pakistani investigators stated the attack had been a false-flag attack staged by the Indian government to malign Pakistan.

Before the Pulwama Attack, the Uri Attack of 2016 which claimed the lives of 23 soldiers had the highest number of Indian soldiers killed in a terror attack in over two decades in Jammu & Kashmir. Four terrorists linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad stormed the 12th Brigade of the army in Uri sector of Jammu. They were killed hours later but evidence procured from their bodies indicated they were foreign militants who had been trained and sent across the LoC by Pakistan. The Pakistani DGMO had set the oft repeated words that they would like some actionable intelligence from India to be able to do anything.

The above three instances, from the numerous terror attacks that have been taking place over the last two decades show that Pakistan’s words ring hollow when it comes to ‘actionable intelligence.’ In fact, breeding terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad to target India, Jaish-al-Adl to target Iran and Haqqani network to target US-coalition forces in Afghanistan are an unwritten policy of the Pakistani military.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 20, 2019 01:28 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).