It has been speculated that the nascent India-Pakistan rapprochement has been made possible by outside diplomacy, particularly by the US. Now, a peak into that behind-the-scenes cajoling has been offered with the telephone call between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and US secretary of state John Kerry over the weekend...
However, beneficial as high-profile interventions can be, they are sometimes a disadvantage too. The perception that Pakistan and India are only talking to each other because of external considerations can undermine the possibilities of dialogue. Moreover, while the attack should not delay talks, it is clearly the most immediate issue that needs to be resolved — between India and Pakistan themselves.
High-level diplomacy and serious intelligence cooperation are the urgent needs right now. Rather than leaving it up to India to provide all the details available to it, there should be an independent investigation inside Pakistan too. Were Pakistanis involved in the Pathankot attack?.... Surely, given the vast counterterrorism dragnet that has been thrown across the country in the fight against militancy, it should not be too difficult for the security and intelligence apparatus to establish the facts here.
... The internal fight against militancy, particularly over the last year and a half, has been about securing the country. Now it is time that this country’s foreign policy is also protected from militants.
— Dawn, Pakistan
