Uri terror attack: Diplomatic isolation of Pakistan an uphill task

New Delhi: Measured expressions of support for India over Sunday’s terrorist attack on the Indian army garrison in north Kashmir suggest New Delhi faces an uphill task in diplomatically isolating Pakistan.

In their initial statements, most countries have refrained from either referring to the assault as an act of cross-border terrorism or directly linking Pakistan to it.

This has not gone unnoticed in the external affairs ministry.“There is no mention of Pakistan or cross-border terrorism in any of the statements. This is telling,” a person familiar with the development who did not want to be identified said.

The message from the UK foreign office on Sunday said London “condemns all forms of terrorism, and stands shoulder to shoulder with India in the fight against terrorism, and in bringing the perpetrators to justice”.

The US statement was similar.

In his meeting with Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif in New York, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday “reiterated the need for Pakistan to prevent all terrorists from using Pakistani territory as safe havens, while commending recent efforts by Pakistani security forces to counter extremist violence.” State Department spokesman John Kirby said, according to a Press Trust of India report.

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“The Prime Minister and Secretary Kerry expressed strong concern with recent violence in Kashmir — particularly the army base attack — and the need for all sides to reduce tensions,” Kirby added.

The reaction from Pakistan’s all-weather ally China said: “China opposes and strongly condemns all forms of terrorism. We are concerned about this escalation and rising temperatures surrounding Kashmir situation... We hope relevant parties will have dialogue and consultation to resolve their differences....”

The only consolation for India came from the French, who, without specifically mentioning Pakistan, called for “decisive action to be taken, in accordance with international law, against the terrorist groups targeting India, particularly the Lashkar-eTaiba, the Jaish-e-Mohammed, and the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen”.

All three are known to be based in Pakistan.

Analysts are not surprised.

Pinak Rajan Chakravarty, former secretary in the foreign ministry, said, “India should not expect any help from the international community apart from sympathetic statements on terrorism in general.”

Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal noted that many countries had been subjected to terrorism and were aware of the challenges India faced from Pakistan.

“But when it comes to India and Pakistan, they usually don’t want to take sides,” he said.

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Given this, India would have to present a water-tight case to prove Pakistani involvement in the Uri attack.

News reports said India could seek US help to decode data from the Global Positioning System (GPS) devices and satellite phones carried by the terrorists.

“Data from the GPS and satellite phones could go some way in determining who these people were, where they came from, who they were in touch with in Pakistan and in India as well perhaps,” said a person familiar with the development who did not want to be named, pointing to information gathered following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Indian investigators were then able to piece together information that showed that the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai had come from Karachi and that their handlers were in Pakistan, the person said.

But even this may be insufficient for India to get Pakistan isolated or listed as a terrorist state given that Islamabad counts China, the US and Saudi Arabia among its backers.

India’s efforts in April, despite sufficient proof to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist group by the UN was blocked by China.

“The US too has stated on many occasions that its ties with Pakistan are independent of India,” said Sibal.

Pakistan is seen as a significant Muslim country at the cross roads of South and Central Asia and the Gulf, with nuclear weapons.

“The US has made it clear that they will not sever ties with Pakistan as well as impose sanctions on it,” Sibal said noting that US-Pakistan date back many decades recent frictions.

Within South Asia though, India could count on support from Afghanistan and Bangladesh — both of whom share uneasy relations with Pakistan.

“Another way of making Pakistan realise that it is opening itself to a high price is Baluchistan if they don’t stop terrorism against India,” said Sibal referring to India’s recent strategy change of highlighting Pakistan’s human rights abuses in the region.