A top official warned Islamabad that ties between the two countries would deteriorate further if there is another “high-profile terrorist attack in India”
Washington : A top Trump administration official has slammed Pakistan for its failure to curb support to anti-India militants and sought progress into the 2016 Pathankot attack probe.
He has warned Islamabad that ties between the two countries would deteriorate if there is another “high-profile terrorist attack in India”.
Director of National Intelligence Daniel R. Coats, during a Congressional hearing, said: “Islamabad’s failure to curb support to anti-India militants and New Delhi’s growing intolerance of this policy, coupled with a perceived lack of progress in Pakistan’s investigations into the January 2016 Pathankot cross-border attack, set the stage for a deterioration of bilateral relations in 2016.”
Last year, Jaish-e-Mohamed militants attacked the Indian airbase in Pathankot on January 2 and killed seven security personnel.
Coats said easing of heightened Indo-Pakistani tension, including negotiations to renew official dialogue, will hinge in 2017 on a sharp and sustained reduction of cross-border attacks by terrorist groups based in Pakistan and progress in Pathankot investigation.
Testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence along with key intelligence officials on Thursday, Coats said that New Delhi-Islamabad relations remain tense following two major terrorist attacks in 2016 by militants crossing into India from Pakistan.
“They might deteriorate further in 2017, especially in the event of another high-profile terrorist attack in India that New Delhi attributes to originating in or receiving assistance from Pakistan,” Coats said as he presented worldwide threat assessment of the intelligence community.
The director of National Intelligence further said: “Increasing numbers of firefights along the Line of Control (LoC), including the use of artillery and mortars, might exacerbate the risk of unintended escalation between these nuclear-armed neighbours.”
Coats said that Pakistani-based terrorist groups present a sustained threat to US interests in the region and continue to plan and conduct attacks in India and Afghanistan.–IANS
