After facing international isolation, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has warned the powerful military not to shield banned militant groups and directed authorities to conclude the Pathankot terror attack probe and the 2008 Mumbai attack trials, Pakistani media reported.

According to a leading Pakistani daily Dawn newspaper, Sharif's orders came after a series of meetings between military and civilian leaders. Sharif has “directed that fresh attempts be made to conclude the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attacks-related trials”, the report said.

The government delivered a "blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning" to the military leadership and sought consensus on several key actions, including action against banned militant groups, the paper quoted unnamed individuals.

Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar and national security advisor Nasser Janjua will travel to the four provinces with a message for provincial apex committees and ISI sector commanders “military-led intelligence agencies are not to interfere if law enforcement acts against militant groups that are banned or until now considered off-limits for civilian action”.

The report said that, Akhtar’s tour began with a visit to Lahore, adding that the decisions were made after an “extraordinary verbal confrontation between Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif and the ISI DG”. The decisions apparently indicated a “high-stakes new approach by the PML-N government”.

The report said foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, while making a presentation in the Prime Minister’s Office to a small group of civil and military officials, said “Pakistan faces diplomatic isolation” and the “government’s talking points have been met with indifference in major world capitals”.

Referring to India, Chaudhry said the “completion of the Pathankot investigation and some visible action against Jaish-e-Mohammed were the principal demands”, report said.

Chaudhry said relations had “deteriorated and will likely further deteriorate because of the American demand that action be taken against the Haqqani network”.

The report added: “Then, to a hushed but surprised room, Mr Chaudhry suggested that while China has reiterated its support for Pakistan, it too has indicated a preference for a change in course by Pakistan. Specifically, while Chinese authorities have conveyed their willingness to keep putting on technical hold a UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar, they have questioned the logic of doing so repeatedly.”

Chaudhry’s “unexpectedly blunt conclusions triggered an astonishing and potentially ground-shifting exchange between the ISI DG and several civilian officials”, the report said.

ISI chief Akhtar asked what steps could be taken to prevent the drift towards isolation and Chaudhry reportedly replied that the “principal international demands are for action against Masood Azhar and the Jaish-e-Mohammed; Hafiz Saeed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba; and the Haqqani network”.

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