France and Germany may agree to disagree on many issues but on Pakistan, they are unanimous that it must do more to combat terrorism.
Visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Pakistan must fight terrorism “determinedly”, and expeditiously bring the 26/11 terrorists to justice.
In a separate media interaction, German ambassador to India Thomas Matussek said Pakistan is not doing enough to combat terrorism and the fear is that the “open struggle for power” within the Pakistani establishment would make its internal situation unstable. France and Germany join the UK, whose prime minister David Cameron had recently warned Pakistan not to “look both ways” on the issue of terrorism.
The EU-3’s wariness of Pakistan is in contrast to the US’s reluctance to call Pakistan’s bluff on terrorism directed against India.
Incidentally, the EU-3 and the US are among the founding members of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, which was launched in 2008 to enable the civilian government in Pakistan to consolidate democracy.
The joint statement issued towards the end of Mr Sarkozy’s talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said they had decided to make counter-terrorism cooperation “a priority of the Indo-French security relationship”. Dr Singh said Pakistan was among the regional issues of common concern that came up for discussion. In an oblique reference to Pakistan, the joint statement expressed concern at the continuing existence of safe havens and sanctuaries for terrorist groups “beyond” Afghanistan’s borders.
The German envoy’s remarks come on top of reports that Mohammed Ilyas Kashmiri, a Pakistan-based terrorist with links to Al Qaeda, has sent two terrorists for executing a 26/11-style attack on the German Parliament building. Also, a few weeks ago, Western intelligence agencies had uncovered a plot hatched in Pakistan to carry out coordinated terror attacks in the UK, France and Germany.
The German envoy was categorical that the Pakistani Army cannot be used to stabilise Afghanistan.