As a part of the SAARC group, it is necessary to maintain cordial relationship with the member countries, who are also regional associates. Sri Lanka and Pakistan, following the protocols, have maintained good ties and a stable diplomatic relationship. However, it seems that Sri Lanka went out of way to cater to the compulsions of bilateral relations, while ignoring possible threats. Sri Lanka witnessed the worst terror attack, since its civil war, this month on Easter Sunday. Sri Lanka had refused to pay any heed to India’s alert about the possible suicide attacks.
According to the economic times, the ignorance of the alert was on the account that India was pitting Sri Lanka against Pakistan by pointing finger at the island’s Muslim community. Senior Lankan officials had claimed that India was trying to instigate Colombo against Islamabad by proposing counter-terror operations among the minority community in the island nation. However, the attacks on Easter Sunday, which killed more than 250 people, proved that India had no ulterior motives behind alerting Sri Lanka about possible attacks.
There is no doubt or secret behind the fact that Sri Lanka has been pleasing Pakistan for quite a long time. It has always considered ISI as a friend, which helped them fight the LTTE. ISI had helped the Sri Lankan Army in thwarting the LTTE during the Rajapaksa regime. Pakistan was apparently returning favours to Sri Lanka for their help during the 1971 war, when Sri Lanka opened their refuelling facilities for them in 1971.
Sri Lanka doesn’t want to be dragged into ‘India-led’ alliance against Pakistan and felt that India was creating an unfounded scare against Islamabad by claiming that the island nation could face suicide attacks. The idea however back fired and the complacency of the Sri Lankan defence forces on India’s alert led to such a disaster which took away so many innocent lives. Sri Lanka has been Pakistan’s security partner since 1999. It has bought arms and ammunitions from Pakistan and in April 2009, Sri Lanka ordered a total of $25 million worth of ammunition.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was in Pakistan for a three-day visit and his to-do list also included attending the country’s Republic Day celebrations as the guest of honour, a sign of deepening ties between the two South Asian nations. The visit was seen as an attempt to build on defence cooperation that has been especially strong since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war.
Sri Lanka’s soft spot for Pakistan led to it ignoring India’s repeated warnings. Their ignorance resulted in the death of around 300 people in one of the worst terror attacks in Sri Lankan history. Sri Lanka should now understand that it can’t ignore the threat posed by a terror country like Pakistan. It should also ponder upon the favours and support it provides to Pakistan and what it got in return.