ISLAMABAD: Pakistani leaders are convinced that the Badaber Air Force camp attack originated in Afghanistan, but are undecided about the mechanism for sharing proofs with the Afghan government due to yawning trust gap.

A late evening call from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, for condemning the Friday terrorist strike, served to reconnect the two leaders, but there was no indication about the two agreeing to give a fresh start to their dysfunctional counter-terrorism cooperation, except for a vague reiteration by Mr Ghani about not allowing his country’s soil to be used against Pakistan.

“The Afghan president said that Afghanistan will never allow its land to be used against Pakistan by anyone,” Prime Minister’s Office quoted the Afghan leader as having told PM Sharif during the telephonic conversation. Mr Ghani also offered condolence over the loss of lives in the attack.

Government leaders, military officials analyse PAF camp attack and strategise course of action

The Afghan presidency had over the weekend through a statement already rejected Pakistani military claims that the Badaber attack was “planned and directed” from Afghanistan, but at the same time asked Pakistan to fight all terrorist groups without discrimination to ensure peace and stability in the region.

The call from the Afghan president came at the end of a day when the civil and military leadership gathered at the Prime Minister’s House to analyse the attack and strategise their future course of action.

The meeting presided over by PM Sharif was attended by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif, DG Military Operations Maj Gen Aamer Riaz, DG Military Intelligence Maj Gen Nadeem Zaki Manj and other senior officials.

“The meeting reviewed overall security situation in the country, sharing of evidence with Afghanistan, border management strategy with Afghanistan and implementation of National Action Plan (NAP),” the PM Office said.

Talking to Dawn after the meeting, one of the participants said Pakistan had strong evidence that the Badaber attack carried out by a Tehreek-i-Taliban affiliate was planned and directed from Afghanistan.

“In principle there is consensus that the Afghans will be given proof about the involvement of Afghanistan-based groups and other actors,” the official said.

Another senior official, who also attended the meeting, said the government was still examining what part of evidence it would share with the Afghans and how would that sharing be done.

Such proofs are normally shared through the ISI.

But an intelligence sharing and cooperation mechanism worked out by the two countries after PM Sharif’s visit to Kabul earlier this year failed to take off because of stiff opposition in Kabul to such an arrangement.

Officials said that chances of intelligence cooperation had particularly become bleak due to the presence of Indian intelligence officials within the Afghan spy outfit NDS as advisers.

The NDS currently has four advisers from RAW.

Bilateral relationship is not in a state where Pakistani leaders will be comfortable sharing the evidence with the Afghan government and expecting it to take action against the groups or individuals it had identified as involved in the attack.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd , 2015

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