New Delhi: The early morning terror attack at an Indian Air Force base in Punjab's Pathankot has come as a stark reminder that the Indo-Pak peace process is not an easy road to travel on.
Within days of India and Pakistan agreeing to start a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue and Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelling to Pakistan on an unscheduled visit, the attack on Saturday is being seen as aimed at derailing the dialogue that hasn't even officially resumed.
It has been seen in the past that whenever the two nations agree to hold peace talks, terrorists make an attempt to derail the process by carrying out attacks and enraging the governments on the two sides of the border.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had said after PM Modi's surprise visit that the 'spirit of goodwill generated after the gesture will prevail'.
And today's terror attack is certainly aimed at undoing that goodwill.
It is not a hidden fact that there are many elements in Pakistan who do not want India and Pakistan to live in peace, even if the government s on both sides decide to end hostilities.
Last year as well, just weeks before the scheduled Indo-Pak NSA-level talks in August, terrorists had carried out attacks in Gurdaspur in Punjab and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. Though, the talks were finally cancelled but for some other reason.
The view this time, however, is that New Delhi and Islamabad would do well to not succumb to sinister designs of terrorists and other anti-peace elements.
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