Delhi weighs action after mayhem
The organisation and its leadership are located in Pakistan. LeT and other terror groups have welcomed the news of the attack. These groups are also based in Pakistan. Pakistan cannot claim that it is unaware of their presence and their activities External Affairs Ministry spokesperson
We have disagreements with the government and there will be; but we have decided to stand with the government for the sake of country, for its safety and unity, for the safety of people and security forces Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leader after the all party meeting
All parties expressed condemnation of the attack and reiterated that they were firmly behind the security forces at this challenging moment D. Raja, CP leader
new delhi — In the aftermath of the terror attack by the Pakistanbased Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 49 CRPF personnel, the government’s strategy for retaliation seems clear — launch an international campaign for exposing and isolating Pakistan for its complicity in terror activities, while taking all domestic and global players into confidence as it prepares for a befitting reply on a military level.
All actions following the dastardly attack indicate that the government’s strategy would be a consensus-based retaliation for which the government has already started talks at different levels as it weighs all options for retaliation.
From the US, China, Russia, Canada, Australia and the European Union to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Indonesia, countries across the world have come in support of India and expressed solidarity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Just a day after the Pulwama attack, India on Friday started the process of isolating Pakistan on the international stage with Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale meeting at least two dozen envoys in the national Capital.
It also withdrew the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status given to Pakistan. According to experts, India’s decision to withdraw the MFN status to Pakistan would adversely impact the neighbouring country’s economy.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Friday, said the External Affairs Ministry would also initiate all diplomatic measures to ensure the global isolation of Pakistan and that India would press with the international community to ensure the early adoption at the UN of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).
This is seen as government’s intention to rally all countries in its support and take them into confidence before giving a befitting reply to Pakistan-based terror fronts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already declared that terror groups who perpetrated the Pulwama attack cannot hide and “will be punished” as the security forces have been given a “free hand” to tackle the inevitable.
On the domestic front also, the government is making efforts to take all stakeholders into confidence before it takes any action. It called an all-party meeting on Saturday to bring political parties on the same page over the issue so it can put up a united face with the whole nation backing the government in whichever action it takes.
The all-party meeting, chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, passed a resolution condemning Pakistan’s support to terrorism and stating that all parties along with the
countrymen stood with the families of the slain CRPF troopers.
The government’s coordinated efforts to expose and isolate Pakistan have already started showing results with Pakistan forced to meet the envoys of five Permanent Members countries of the UN Security Council — collectively known as P-5 — in Islamabad.
It looked visibly on the back foot when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Advisor on Commerce, Razak Dawood, said that Pakistan would take action with great care and would not “overreact”.
The international community has also strongly condemned the attack with US President Donald Trump asking Pakistan to “end immediately” the support and safe haven provided to all terrorist groups operating on its soil even as Pakistan dismissed accusations that it had links with the militants who carried out the attack.
According to sources, the Foreign Secretary met around 25 ambassadors, including the P-5, all South Asian countries and other important partners like Japan, Germany, Korea and others. P-5 comprises the US, Russia, China, France and UK. —