India-Pakistan talks: Captured Pakistan terrorist provides India fresh ammo

Ahead of talks between national security advisers of India and Pakistan, India has claimed it has captured a Pakistani militant who attacked a border security convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, providing New Delhi a prized catch to confront Islamabad with the involvement of its nationals in cross-border terror in the country.

Two Pakistani militants opened fire at a BSF convoy on August 5, killing one terrorist. But the other escaping for a while before getting caught. The arrested terrorist Naved has confessed he is from Ghulam Mohammadabad in Pakistan and disclosed that he had infiltrated into India as part of a group of four. He also confessed that they had made an unsuccessful attempt two months ago to infiltrate into India, but failed as the person supposed to guide them didn’t turn up.

While the hunt is on for the other two suspected terrorists, this is the first time after 26/11 that a Pakistani terrorist has been caught alive.

The latest incident, along with intensifying cross-border tensions and the attack on a police station in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, signals a downward spiral in bilateral ties after the meeting of the two leaders in the Russian city of Ufa over three weeks ago. Reliable sources said that these were serious provocations, but India has decided to go ahead with the NSAs meeting, signaling a new strategy to continue talking amid these attacks, which are suspected to have been masterminded by those elements in Pakistan who feel threatened with any sign of rapprochement between the two countries.

According to investigators, Naved said he had come to kill Hindus to avenge the killings of Kashmiris. While India is expected to talk tough with Pakistan in the forthcoming talks between both countries, it still remains to be seen how Pakistan responds to strong evidence presented by India, showing the involvement of Pakistan-based operatives in the two recent terror attacks.

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