Delhi briefed President Putin about Pakistani state actors being involved in activities aimed at fomenting trouble for India

New Delhi: As a result of an “exhaustive and massive briefing” by Indian diplomats, Russian President Vladimir Putin is learnt to be convinced that Pakistan is not only harbouring and sponsoring terror groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), but it is also misusing the arms and weapons for anti-India activities by these terror outfits. India also brought it to the knowledge of the Russian side during the 2+2 meetings recently that the weapons being sold to Pakistan by Moscow and other countries are being misused like this, sources told The Sunday Guardian. As part of this briefing about Pakistan’s nexus with terror groups, India reminded the Russian leader that even Moscow had detected Islamabad’s move to illegally procure dual-use material for its Chashma nuke plant. That Russia had to halt the deal to thwart Pakistan’s bid to access nuke material is an important development to take into account here. According to MEA sources, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar reminded his Russian counterpart that the global community has always expressed its concerns about the likelihood of weapons slipping into the hands of terrorists operating from there (read Pakistan). Moreover, there were reports about the Pakistan-North Korea nuclear nexus.

Several similar facts helped India to convince Russia about how terror groups are operating freely from Pakistan’s soil without any fear. “Rather, they are getting support from the government establishments and agencies in Islamabad,” says a diplomat. The mention of LeT in the joint statement which was issued after the summit meeting between Putin and PM Modi reflected the future course of action that New Delhi and Moscow are going to follow together to build pressure on Pakistan, says a diplomat. “It will not be limited to just the statement only, future action will also be seen on that line,” he added.

A top Indian diplomat said that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar during the 2+2 interaction in Delhi that “what is necessary will be done to caution Pakistan against all this”. Diplomatic sources believe that Russia will give a strong message to Pakistan on all this during the next Extended Troika on Afghanistan and on some other occasions as well. The Extended Troika consists of the US, Russia, China and Pakistan. Russia is keen that the focus of this Troika is always on checking and reviewing whether Afghanistan soil is still being used by terrorists. “The Russian minister also wants to see whether the terror groups from adjoining region including Pakistan are also getting active from Afghan soil,” sources say.

After his meeting with Jaishankar, Lavrov stressed on the need to include India and Iran in the Extended Troika on Afghanistan. Underlining the importance and relevance of India, which was a message to Pakistan, Lavrov went on record saying that New Delhi will contribute to the international efforts to bring about stability.