By Poonam I Kaushish
You reap what you sow. Bluntly, this underscores India’s blinkered and myopic policy towards its bête noire Pakistan. Alas, New Delhi refuses to stare the harsh truth that its soft strategy of molly-coddling Islamabad for its various misdemeanours over the years has only made matters worse for the country. Any novice who is adept in foreign policy manouveres would have told one a leopard never changes his spot!
One expected the barbaric killing of two soldiers by Pakistani troops who crossed the Line of Control in Kashmir’s Poonch district and carried away one severed head as “trophy”, the grimmest provocation since Mumbai 26/11 2008 carnage, would be a wake-up call to New Delhi to get its act together.
Instead, South Block’s reaction ran according to script: It unleashed a volley of words and summoned Pakistan’s envoy, nothing more nothing less. Adding, our ties are not a “zero sum game. This attack is not the total of everything and has happened earlier too. Give Islamabad time to take action”.
Only to be coolly rebuffed by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Hibbani Khar, “Pakistan does not need to reply to one billion Indians” and brazenly denied its soldiers involvement. Worse, in a diplomatic tit-for-tat it issued a demarche to India’s High Commissioner in Islamabad for a Pakistan soldier death in retaliation.
Questionably, that the Pakistani violation of the decade-long ceasefire has come so soon after the trip of Interior Minister Rehman Malik and resumption of cricketing ties raises a moot point: How many more incidents will it take for New Delhi to realize that its appeasement policy is getting us nowhere with our recalcitrant neighbour? Hasn’t the time come for New Delhi to comprehend that Islamabad refuses to give up its confrontational mindset of waging a “thousand wars”? Isn’t it time to put ties back into the deep freeze?
Sadly, answers to these questions don’t hold out hope for optimism or breakthrough in Indo-Pak ties. Think. Over the years, the Centre always ends up mostly reacting, instead of looking ahead and acting. Fire-fighting measures are put into force without understanding the issues involved. Crisis over all is forgotten like a bad dream till another crisis erupts. Merely curing the symptoms, not the disease.
After all, even a layman could tell, post Ajmal Kasab’s hanging, New Delhi should have expected retribution. More so after Mumbai perpetrator Lashkar-i-Toiba’s Hafiz Saeed visited Pakistan Occupied Kashmir a week prior to this savagery, but it sat back assuming “all is well.”
As matters stand, there is nothing concrete to suggest that Islamabad is ready to address New Delhi’s ‘core’ concerns on terrorism. Nor is there any indication that Pakistan has changed its antagonistic approach to India. On the contrary, in the last one month, Pakistan’s army violated the ceasefire agreement along the Indo-Pak border nearly 12 times. Last year there were 71 incidents of cross-border firing and another 33 on the small stretch of the International Border that falls in Jammu-Kathua belt up from 51 in 2010.
Undeniably, the fog of war is a reality even during peace time along the troubled Indo-Pak border. Simply because Islamabad does not share India’s desire for friendly relations? Notwithstanding, New Delhi has decreased the pressure on the Mumbai attack and is busy doling out goodwill gestures, delinking dialogue from terrorism, including resuming talk, granting Pakistan Most Favoured Nation status, relaxing visa norms et al.
Unfortunately, Islamabad has misread these goody-goody gestures. Primarily because the Pakistani military establishment is drawing encouragement from New Delhi’s reading of Pakistan is itself a victim of terror, not as sponsor of terror. And, its reluctance to bring the Mumbai-attack masterminds to justice thereby emboldening it to commit acts of aggression. New Delhi has eased pressure on Hafiz Saeed, who continues to preach terrorism against India.
Secondly, there is thaw in US-Pakistan ties, after being on the boil for over a year. This is apparent from Washington’s resumption of over $3 billion military aid and its pampering of Pakistan’s army and ISI to bring the Taliban into Afghan government in Kabul. As it ready’s its exit strategy from Afghanistan in 2014.
Alas, New Delhi continues to keep a brave face and continues to paint a hopeful future. Like his predecessor Vajpayee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too subscribe to Winston Churchill diktat jaw-jaw is better than war-war. He too has a “vision” of smoking the peace pipe with Islamabad. But even as he trudges the lonely peace road he should realize that good intentions alone cannot transform Indo-Pak relations. While Indians and Pakistanis can be friends, India and Pakistan can never be friends
True, there is no magic wand to erase 50 years of distrust, hatred and enmity. Both sides continue to be wary of each other. Deep mistrust and lack of confidence is apparent. Yet the two have not rejected further dialogue. Even when it and is no more than a repletion of known positions.
Islamabad needs to do a lot more than just generating artificial illusions. It has to match its words with deeds. There is little scope for talking peace and friendship with a neighbour who is busy throwing stones at you and even sniping
In today’s geo-strategic political reality pragmatism dictate real politic. New Delhi needs an all-encompassing and multi-pronged strategy to deal with Islamabad. The Government and its security agencies need to remain ever vigilant, be one step ahead of Pakistan, its jihadis and act promptly vis-à-vis terror attacks and cross-border terrorism. It needs to get a no-nonsense message across to Islamabad that ignoring New Delhi’s concerns would be by at its own peril.
At the same time, Islamabad needs to understand that New Delhi patience should not be mistaken for weakness. Given that it has paid the price for misreading India thrice over the Indo-Pak wars. The bottom line? India needs to be reassured that savage acts and ceasefire violations will be stopped for the relationship to move to the next level.
The UPA government can ill afford to remain passive at this juncture. Pakistan should understand our tolerance has touched tipping point. Time now for New Delhi to adopt a calibrated strategy to deal with an intractable neighbour and come up with a response that puts Pakistan in the dock in the eyes of the global community.
Clearly, the time has come for India to reject the double standards that are prevalent in Pakistan’s attitude. New Delhi must take some hard decisions. Our Pakistan policy cannot operate in a perceived vacuum of goodwill and gushy expectations of better ties. The Centre today faces a test-by-fire kind of situation. Time for some Statecraft, strategy and show of spine. Else, face the bitter reality of continuing to reap a pungent harvest! (INFA)