Battle between Nawaz Sharif and Gen Raheel Sharif, is it Modi effect?

Have the attempts by India to internationally isolate Pakistan on grounds of sponsoring terrorism in its soil and carrying out acts of terror in foreign soil, particularly in India, finally begun to pay off? If a report published in Dawn newspaper, the battle between the civilian government of Pakistan and its all-powerful military has begun to spill over.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has castigated the Pakistan Army as well as the dreaded intelligence wing ISI over shielding terrorists and pushing Pakistan towards global isolation. According to the report, Nawaz Sharif has come out in the open asking the Pak armed forces to stop supporting internationally sought or banned militant groups, as well as has directed the authorities to conclude the January 2016 Pathankot attack probe as well as the 2008 Mumbai 26/11 attack trials.

While Dawn described the move as "blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented" warning to the military leadership, in India Nawaz Sharif's move has been decoded as the Modi diplomacy by other means, particularly the September 29 pre-dawn surgical strikes against terror launch pads in PoK, finally reaping dividends.

The report quoted sources saying that at the all-parties high-level meeting in Pakistan which has remained undisclosed except for the Dawn scoop, Pakistan Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif crossed verbal swords with the ISI director general Rizwan Akhtar, saying the latter has erected barriers whenever law enforcement under the civilian government have gone after the terrorists. The report said that the atmosphere got so tense that PM Sharif had to intervene and ease off the matter.

While the report cites this confrontation as a message that the Pakistan Muslim League led by Nawaz Sharif has understood the price it would have to pay internationally if it continues to back terror as official policy and fails to rein in the military under General Raheel Sharif, thinktanks in Pakistan have dismissed the report as unsubstantiated and bogus.

However, the report cites Pakistan foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry giving a presentation chalking out the diplomatic isolation Pakistan faces at this juncture, with even China expressing doubts over repeatedly blocking Indian bids to declare Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, Jamat-ud-Dawa head Hafiz Saeed and their ilk as designated terrorists by the UNSC. Also the American demand that action be taken against the Afghanistan-linked Haqqani network was mentioned at the said meeting.

As expected, New Delhi is abuzz with the implication of the meet, and despite its plausible deniability, it is good news for India since it would mean that the Modi government's efforts to "teach Pakistan a lesson" have paid off in the manner that would prevent a military escalation, and also expect action against terror.

However, there are some voices of scepticism as well, who dismiss the report as a deflection technique by Islamabad, a high-level plant intended to buy some time. For what exactly, the question remains.

Now the question is, has the Sharif government intentionally leaked the story for gaining some upper hand in the consular circles, and calm the global temperature down, particularly the American heat which the Pakistani establishemnt hasn't truly faced before? Or this about something else altogether? Can New Delhi read this right and not lower its guard, despite basking in the glow of the purported "Modi effect"?

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