Punjab terror attack: Gains made at Ufa might be lost

The terror strike at Gurdaspur, Punjab, has not only put efforts to revive India-Pakistan cricket ties in cold storage but threatens to undo the thaw that the meeting of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif had achieved at Ufa in Russia on July 10.

At Ufa, Modi and Sharif had issued a joint statement that attempted to leave the bitterness of the past few months behind and revive the dialogue. The joint statement had put the issue of terrorism at the heart of normalising India and Pakistan relations, with Islamabad committing to provide voice samples of those who masterminded the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai in 2008. The two had also committed to reduce border tensions by talks between the Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers as well as their respective director-generals of military operations. Sharif was roundly criticised in Pakistan as the joint statement didn't mention the Kashmir dispute. In India, the Congress party had questioned Modi for his attempt to normalise relations with Pakistan despite Islamabad continuing to export terror to India.

The Gurdaspur attack will bolster not just the Congress' criticism but also of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) against any friendly overtures. The likelihood of Modi and Sharif building on the Ufa spirit at a possible meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September is also likely to recede. Meanwhile, Pakistan has condemned the attack.

In a direct fallout, the hope of a bilateral India-Pakistan cricket series now seems dashed. The respective cricket boards of India and Pakistan had been in talks to revive bilateral cricket series. But Board of Control for Cricket in India Secretary Anurag Thakur on Monday said normalisation of cricket ties might not be possible now.

"Earlier also, there was no such decision that the series will take place. Only the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) has reached out to the BCCI.

We were talking on those lines but when you see such attacks on India time and again, in the Jammu region (earlier), now in Punjab, where Indians are losing their lives, as an Indian, I don't see a possibility to that (reviving cricketing ties)," Thakur said.

In Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal called off his meeting with Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit scheduled in the wake of the terror attack. The meeting was scheduled for July 29.

The Centre also ordered the Border Security Force to find out how the terrorists could breach the International Border, despite heightened security. "I don't know whether it is big or small. It is serious," said National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.