By
Sushil Kutty
“India has made its point, now back
down; it’s time for diplomacy” is the rhetoric in Pakistan after Wednesday’s
capture of an IAF pilot. Pakistan wants to end it all with Pakistan one up!
India, of course, is not ready to do so, especially not after Tuesday’s
euphoria following the “pre-emptive” strikes on JeM assets in Balakot, inside
Pakistani territory. Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot just let go; his
macho-man image will dent and BJP’s electoral calculations will also go awry.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan
took the turn of events in Pakistan’s favour to once again call for talks; some
would say “beg” for talks. Since then, a clutch of Pakistan’s ministers have
reiterated the demand. In fact, ‘let’s talk’ is the refrain in all Pakistan
media; unlike in India where the media is well and truely divided. A section of
the Indian media is calling for talks while another is vociferously demanding
that India “teach Pakistan a lesson” and that it’s now or never!
The peaceniks among the India media
got a shot in the arm after the capture of the IAF pilot by Pakistan. They are
now talking of the “dangers of the situation becoming even more fraught, with
no real advantage to India” if India escalates. Their contention is India has
made its point and Pakistan has made its point; so, let’s go to the negotiating
table, which is what Pakistan wants and Prime Minister Imran Khan –
“statesman-like, as the head of a civilized country should” –also called for
talks, for the second time in a dozen days.
After the capture of the IAF pilot,
it’s as if his return will be and should be all that remains to sort out
differences between the two countries and for talks to resume. Needless to say,
India’s response should not be decided by “studio warriors”, but it should also
not be dictated by “armchair analysts”, sitting with pen poised in newsrooms.
Pilots and soldiers go into war
expecting the worst and one pilot caught or released should not be the tipping
point. Pakistan cannot be allowed to blackmail India with Wing Commander
Abhinandan Varthaman, his safety in Pakistan and his safe return to India. The
Geneva Convention protects him as it does all POW in all wars. Any
de-escalation cannot hinge on the fate of one prisoner of war.
A lot of talk since Wednesday’s events
has been that “his release is the focus” of the Modi government, especially
after India handed over a dossier on the Pulwama attack to Pakistan, as
demanded by Imran Khan and which he termed “actionable evidence.” The rhetoric
is that India should secure the pilot’s return and work with the global
community to ensure peace in the region, which is exactly what Pakistan wants,
a possible internationalizing of Kashmir.
Pakistan wants talks on Kashmir,
doesn’t matter how the goal is achieved. It has wanted talks on Kashmir right
from when the state of Jammu & Kashmir became a bone of contention between
the two countries. It has fought wars to push India to the negotiating table
and it has used terror proxies and cross-border terrorism as a state tool to
force India to hold talks on Kashmir. Mumbai 26/11, Uri, Pathankot, Pulwama,
the examples are there to count.
Pakistan’s nuclear rhetoric, the
threat to use the nuclear option thrown in after every conflict inflexion
point, has also been calibrated to push India to talks. Escalate with proxy
terror strikes, hold out the nuclear threat if India retaliates and then ask
for de-escalation. That has been Pakistan’s blueprint for the last three
decades. But every time India fell for the Pakistani ploy, Pakistan has fallen
back on terror to thwart the very talks it called for, strengthening the belief
that for Pakistan, keeping Kashmir on the boil serves a larger purpose, at
least for the Pakistan Army.
It’s a shame India looks and sounds
divided at such a time. It is not news that Pakistanis have always stood like a
rock behind its army. The country has been under its military’s shadow for so
long that Pakistani citizens cannot think of any other dispensation other than
the army calling the shots. Prime Minister Imran Khan may hanker for talks and
de-escalation, but is that what the Pakistan Army wants? Not when Pakistani
F-16s continue to try to violate Indian airspace, which they tried to do
Thursday noon, too.
India cannot and should not back off
now, not after bringing things to such an inflexion point. Pakistan’s “terror
face” stands exposed. How many countries are ready to go to war over terror
proxies and how many have terror proxies working within their territories?
Pakistan has been using sentiments in the Kashmir Valley to forward its
anti-India agenda for far too long and another opportunity will not come
India’s way to expose Pakistan’s duplicity.
Significantly, India’s main opposition
party, the Congress, is not for de-escalation. The Congress has been in
government and Congress governments have gone on the offensive against Pakistan
more than once. Ever since the pre-emptive strikes on JeM targets in Pakistan,
several Congress leaders have come on record and called for no quarters to be
given to Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do well to call an
all-party meet and present a united India to Pakistan and the world at large.
Succumbing to Pakistan’s blackmail is the last thing India wants. (IPA
Service)
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