But the latest reports from Jammu and Kashmir show that Pakistan continues to allow the militants to use its territory to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir for escalating the almost “under-control” terror violence. During her last week’s China visit Khar also had to face the Chinese charge that the militants of the separatist East Turkistan Islamic Movement who carried out attacks in Kashghar in the country’s Xinjiang province, were trained at Pakistani-based terror camps.

What has been happening in Jammu and Kashmir for the past fortnight exposes Pakistan’s double-speak about training and helping the militants for infiltration in the state

Indian Intelligence and the Army have been reporting large number of militants trained at the PoK-based training camps concentrating across the Line of Control for infiltrating into the state. This has been borne out by the rising number of encounters between the Army and groups of armed militants attempting to cross into Jammu and Kashmir. These attempts were preceded by over half a dozen ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army. Past experience shows that Pakistan Army resorts to ceasefire violations during summer to provide cover to militants to cross the LoC. In one of the last week’s major encounters, twelve of the heavily armed large militants group were killed by the Army.

The truth about Pakistan’s earlier assurances -the first given to India by the country’s former military dictator Pervez Musharraf in 1996- that it would not allow its territory to be used for terror activities in other countries was exposed by the self-exiled dictator’s own admission two years ago in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel that “Pakistan had trained underground militant groups to fight in Kashmir”.

The Pakistani authorities repeated declarations of not permitting its soil to be used by the militants against other countries have proved to be hypocritical by the continued terror strikes -the 26/11 Mumbai attack being the last big strike- against India by the ISI-trained militants. Pakistan first denied that the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack were its citizens. But later it had to admit that they were. Under global pressure Pakistan was forced to initiate action against them.

Leave aside the long history of India and Pakistan’s ruptured relationship, Pakistan has lately been under attack from its closest allies USA and China. It is the continuous sponsoring of terror violence in the foreign lands by Pakistan’s still all-powerful Army and its ISI which are mainly responsible for Pakistan’s growing global isolation. Even a US top General recently held Pakistan responsible for the deteriorating ties between the two countries mainly because of the ISI’s encouragement of the terrorists, as revealed by the ISI agent Ghulam Nabi Fai’s arrest by the FBI.

Pakistan agencies have been sponsoring terror attacks not only in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India, they are also now ordering killing of some Kashmiri separatists and religious leaders. The latest instance is the assassination of Moulvi Showkat Shah, former head of the pro-separatist socio-religious group Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees. He was killed in a bomb attack while he was entering the mosque for Friday prayers on April 8 last. First blaming the Army for his assassination, the Lashkar-e-Toiba carried out an internal investigation into the cleric’s killing. The Lashkar’s report released on August 25 by an All-party Probe Committee comprising all the separatist bodies said that one of its own members murdered Shah following instructions from “Pakistani handlers”.

Pakistan’s role in promoting terrorism in other countries has already boomeranged as the country itself has now become a victim of escalating terror violence of which its commercial capital Karachi has become a major target after the north-western tribal region.

Pakistan is reaping what its successive governments had sown. In the 1980s, the ISI and CIA trained and armed Talibans to fight the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. After Soviets ouster, Pakistan, in collaboration with the US, propped up the Talibans to form government in the country. But after the US Army ousted the Taliban regime in the wake of 9/11 US attacks, the Jihadis, indoctrinated by Pakistan’s religious fanatics, made Pakistan their target. While Taliban militants from Afghanistan are launching cross border raids to kill Pakistan’s security men, the country’s own home grown Taliban whose terror attacks have been on the rise now threaten Pakistan’s survival as an independent entity. By sponsoring terror attacks first in India and then in Afghanistan, Pakistani rulers forgot they were riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.

Pakistan seems to have now realized its folly of nursing and sponsoring terror in other countries. It is this realisation that is apparently behind its seemingly keen desire to seek peace with India as reflected in the country’s Foreign Minister Khar’s conciliatory utterances during her recent visit to India. (IPA Service)