US gives Nawaz Sharif proof linking Pak terror groups to Gurdaspur strike
New Delhi: The United States has confronted Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with proof that terror outfits operating from Pakistani soil were behind the Gurdaspur terror attack on 27 July 2015, according to a sources based report in The Indian Express.
Diplomatic sources have revealed that the proof was determined based on Global Positioning System (GPS) sets recovered from terrorists and the evidence was discussed with Nawaz Sharif while he was on his visit to Washington last week.
The Pakistan leadership had earlier repeatedly denied their country's hand in the terror strike in Gurdaspur, despite earlier evidence that the gloves worn by the terrorists had a ‘made in Pakistan’ tag.
While Pakistan insists on turning a blind eye to the role of terror groups operating from its soil, new evidence provided by the US has put it in a tight spot. Sources say that US warned Sharif that the large scale of civilian fatalities in the attack could have warranted a hostile response from India, leading to cross-border strikes on Pak terrors camps and infrastructure, which in turn could have potentially triggered a full-scale war between the two countries.
According to a Washington-based diplomat, US had insisted that the technical data they collected linking Pakistan to the strike was irrefutable but Pakistan argued that there was no official complicity in facilitating it.
If sources are to be believed, the United States is firm on its stand and will push for concrete assurances from Pakistan’s army chief Raheel Sharif to weed out Lashkar-e-Taiba and other extremist groups from the country during his upcoming visit to Washington.
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Gurdaspur terrorists came from Pakistan using Ravi river, says Rajnath Singh
Indian intelligence agencies earlier had determined that the GPS devices used by the terrorists were first were first turned on in Sargodha, which is where Pakistan’s largest airbase is situated, clearly pointing at the country's hand in the attack.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh in a statement to the Rajya Sabha in July had said that ‘preliminary analyses of GPS data indicates that the terrorists had infiltrated from Pakistan through the area near Tash in Gurdaspur district, where the Ravi river enters Pakistan."
Three civilians, three Home Guards and one police officer lost their lives while 10 civilians and seven security force personnel were also injured in the Gurdaspur terror attack.
With Indian Prime Minister taking a tough stand on Pak based terror attacks in India and Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh declaring in September that the military was prepared for short-duration wars, the US intelligence community is worried that if Pakistan does not take strong steps to curb terror, India would be compelled to carry out strikes on LeT camps. The US also fears that Pakistan would not hesitate to respond with it tactical nuclear weapons in such a situation and that it would escalate into a full-fledged war.
