Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has belatedly called for a dialogue with India even as Pakistani fighter aircrafts breached the Indian airspace on Wednesday morning and were sent packing, albeit with some casualty as an IAF fighter pilot is in Pakistan’s custody. The last time the Indian and Pakistani Air Force engaged in a war was way back in 1971. The present face-off is a result of the Pulwana attack by a suicide bomber that cost India the lives of over 40 CRPF jawans with as many injured. India on Tuesday flew its Mirage 2000 into Balakot where the Jaish-e Mohammed terrorist camps are located and dropped payload of 1000 kilogram. After India’s attack on the Jaish camps the Mirages returned unscathed. However, India was on high alert and as predicted Pakistan F16 aircrafts entered inside the Line of Control (LoC) but were driven back by IAF fighters. Imran Khan and the Pakistani army have consistently denied that they are giving fire power to the Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terror outfits on their soil. They were similarly in denial about Osama Bin laden being holed up in Abottabad, southwest of the Pakistan Military Academy in Bilal Town where retired military officers reside. It is not possible that they did not know of Osama’s presence in the vicinity. Since November 2008 when the horrific Mumbai attack happened India has been asking Pakistan to dismantle the terror camps of radical Islamist groups but all that Pakistan has done is to ask for evidence. Even after the Pulwama attack Imran Khan repeated the rhetoric about evidence. This is what irks the Indian establishment.
As far as India is concerned what has been lacking is a strategic Pakistan policy that should have been a commonly accepted doctrine across the political divide and which should be adopted by every Government in power at the Centre and which is subject to change depending on the changing contours of politics in Pakistan. Military doctrines cannot be subjected to the fluctuations and vagaries of politics. Diplomacy too cannot be dictated by the politics of the day unless found faulty and lacks outcomes. Our diplomatic engagement with Pakistan has always been a case of one step forward and two steps backwards. India now needs to get a grip on things and also find a way to handle the Kashmir imbroglio. That’s India’s Achilles heel and perhaps some new strategies need to be tried out there too. However that requires a humane approach and not just military action and keeping in mind that not every Kashmiri is a terrorist.