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re the clouds of war hovering over the LoC and the dreary administration cannot hear the thunder?
With one hundred and seventeen violations of the line of control (LoC) in 2012, and three incursions already in the very first 10 days since the beginning of this year, the trend of violence emanating from Pakistan portends an escalation in unprovoked hostility in coming months. The question remains; what are we willing to do in return. Would we reciprocate their sentiments with the same vehemence or do as we have always done in the past; restrain ourselves and let them have another laugh at our expense. ‘Straying’ across the LoC illegally to engage our soldiers in skirmishes, in itself, is a serious violation of the ceasefire protocol. But, when Pakistani barbarity tests the outermost limits of human indignation and India’s forbearance by killing two of our soldiers, mutilating their dead bodies, and then taking away a decapitated head as souvenir, their grisly act elevates to a direct assault on the sovereignty of our nation, mandating a firm response that is both, prompt and forceful. Recognizing that diplomacy succeeds only in the company of a deterring might, use of force to retaliate whenever infractions occur shouldn’t be relegated to the back burner of our response options. Whereas no country, not even the weakest nation on the planet, would let such a horrendous attack go unpunished, our leaders have opted to underplay the significance of the assault by reacting with only a feeble response. Perpetually lost for words, PM Manmohan Singh, as expected, remained silent as a disinterested spectator for almost ten days before public outrage couldn’t be held back. Recently rewarded with an elevated position as Foreign Minister, Salman Khurshid could sum up the courage to express India’s displeasure at Pakistan’s belligerent move, but only in a whisper. Not to infuriate his Pakistani counterpart, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, Salman Khurshid was quick to clarify how the current imbroglio would still not affect the visa liberalization scheme between the two countries. In return, while fervently refusing to accept blame, the hawkish Ms. Khar sent a double-edged message designed to divide India further on communal basis. The defiant statement that her country would not respond to "any statement coming from a billion people from India", clearly referring to billion Hindus and deviously separating the 200 million Muslims who also call India their home, coincided with the fiery sentiment expressed in a hate speech delivered a month earlier by Akbaruddin Owaisi. Whether Owaisi’s call for violence against billion Hindus of India played any significant role in Pakistan’s misadventure at the LoC is yet to be determined. As irrational as it may seem, Pakistan’s unprovoked assault, first in Mendhar sector and a repeat strike in the Poonch sector bears an unmistakable sign of a meticulously planned conspiracy that foretells difficult times ahead. By simply aggregating the events that have transpired in the past few months, even my untrained eye can spot a diabolical plan that was set in motion long before Pakistan ever carried out its first LoC violation of 2013.
Considering the timing when separatists from the Hurriyat Conference visited Pakistan and those who they met, an independent observation is likely to cast suspicion on their complicity in what followed at the LoC. If those suspicions come true, their troubles, like Owaisi’s may just have started. Obviously, lending support to the Kashmiri separatists couldn’t be the only reason to conduct a string of daring ceasefire violations. There may be other pressing reasons for Pakistan’s egregious behavior. Having ascended to the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for January 2013, a desperate attempt to rekindle and ‘walk’ the Kashmir issue through Council’s august corridors expediently may have been a motivating factor for Pakistan to violate the ceasefire accord multiple times. Internationalizing Kashmir issue has been one of Pakistan’s most cherished objectives, particularly in the context of India’s absolute refusal to allow third party intervention in any and all disputes relating to Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan’s expectation of a positive outcome has remained elusive. Caught in the vortex of escalating violence, preoccupation with internal disturbances has compelled Pakistan to curtail, if only for now, its ‘rescue operation’ to bring ‘freedom’ and ‘relief’ to Kashmir. In its wake, positive impact of a gradual decline in militancy is visible. Sadly, tranquility may be short-lived and Pakistan knows that all too well. War in Afghanistan is nearing an end. Militants from that conflict, tempered in the rugged Afghan mountains are Pakistan’s jihadi assets who are ready to fight another war. At an opportune time Pakistan will turn them loose along the LoC to engage in subversive activities. In coming months, as militants from the Afghan war shift their coordinates, there will be a surge in terrorist activities, and escalation of lawlessness, initially in Jammu and Kashmir region which would then gradually spread to other parts of the country. That is, unless the Congress administration wakes up to face the existential threat that lurks in the shadows of liberal and benevolent thinking that all our problems with Pakistan can be resolved through accommodation and non-threatening gestures. That concept may be valid in most instances, but not when dealing with an adversary as astute as Pakistan. A failed state in the making, Pakistan may be burying its head in sand hoping that all internal forces of destruction will disappear. Uncontrollable bomb blasts, killing of innocent civilians, mostly Shias and other minorities with impunity, and even kidnapping and executing army regulars in bunches are everyday occurrences. With ominous signs of a disintegrating state, Pakistani violations at the LoC could also be a diversionary tactic to draw peoples’ attention away from internal turmoil and deteriorating conditions in that country. Other possible ploys could be to test India’s resolve to act in retaliation and to ‘soften’ the security fence before infiltrating militants through it and through a series of underground tunnels that Pakistan may have built with the same precision as was recently discovered, cut deep under the LoC. There is no denying India has suffered constant aggravation, countless incitements, and abundant rebuke at the hands of Pakistan. But, it remains a mystery why the administration adheres to an outdated policy of appeasement of the adversary while failing to respond decisively to any challenge that is brought against India’s integrity. Why is India yielding in its response? Have we redefined the term ‘Appeasement’ to extend coverage to Muslims in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan? |
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*Ravi Munshi | |||
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