India blames Pakistani state actors for terror attacks

Days after the handshake between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan on the margins of the SAARC summit in Kathmandu, New Delhi has upped pressure on Islamabad, with Home Minister Rajnath Singh blaming state actors from Pakistan for terror attacks in the country.

Addressing the heads of Indian police, paramilitary and intelligence agencies in Guwahati, the key city in India’s northeastern state of Assam November 29, Rajnath Singh rebutted Islamabad’s assertion that non-state actors are involved in terrorism. Singh underlined that Pakistani state agencies are trying to destabilize India. If non-state actors are involved in terrorist acts in India, then is ISI a non-state actor,” he asked.

The home minister added that al-Qaeda and other terror group are trying to mobilise the support of Indian Muslims to promote their objectives, but made it clear that such outfits won’t succeed in their aims. “There might be many terrorist organisations in the world but we will not allow them to get a foothold in our country,” he said while alluding to the battle between the militants and armed forces in the Arnia sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

Singh’s accusation against Islamabad gives some clue to why Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose not to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of a regional summit of leaders in the Nepali capital November 26-27. In response to repeated questions by journalists in Kathmandu, New Delhi consistently reiterated that it was looking for a meaningful dialogue with Islamabad and indicated that the atmosphere was not conducive for any serious engagement, which effectively meant New Delhi’s assessment that terror attacks against India continue to be hatched on the Pakistani soil.

In the end, Mr Modi and Mr Sharif just shook hands and smiles before the cameras on the concluding day of the SAARC summit November 27. Mr Modi’s refusal to engage Mr Sharif underscored that New Delhi continues to have serious doubts about Islamabad’s intention and will to follow its oft-iterated pledge not to allow the Pakistani territory for anti-India terror activities.

Author Profile

India Writes Network: India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.