Pathankot and the Indian media

At times, even the most alarmist of the (few) pundits that are wary of the Pakistani establishment can’t keep up with it.

Consider the following lines, which were the concluding words of the entry on the prime minister in this publication’s Newsmakers of 2015 series.

“The [PML-N’s] problem is that it is a party of the trading classes. And though this class is nationalist-conservative by nature, of late they have started seeing the utility of peace and friendship with India. It’s just good business.

That will not go down well with the powers that be. One doesn’t know how the government will react if there is another event like 26/11 in the coming year or two.”

Barely 24 hours had passed since that went to press that the attack on the Indian air force base in Pathankot took place.

It is, of course, not established beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Pakistani deep state had anything to do with it. But that the individuals themselves were Pakistani seems to be foregone conclusion.

Since then, the focus of the Pakistani media has been the Indian media. Why, oh why, are they being so sensational?

Now, yes, the Indian media certainly isn’t staid and dispassionate. Commercial news media, especially in countries that have relative freedoms of speech, tend to be a little flashy, at best, and shamelessly sensationalist, at worst.

But when you add to this already volatile mix the very distinct possibility that the attacks were indeed carried out by individuals from within Pakistan, how really were we expecting the Indian media to act?

The United Jihad Council, long thought of as a Pakistan affiliate, has actually claimed the attack. What would the Pakistani media’s take on that be? Skimming through the local airwaves, one saw scant mention of that.

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One recurring line that comes in the aftermath of any unfortunate attack in India is the constant mention of the timeline. It is taking the Indians way too long to control the situation and clear the area, say our pundits. Which could mean one of two things: a) the incompetence of the Indian security forces or b) they have orchestrated it themselves and are delaying the handling of the situation by milking it for international PR dividends.

Aakhir koi bataye ke itni der kyun lag rahi hai? Spoken like over-eager patrons at a restaurant.

They had the same for the Mumbai attacks and, over the past week, they have been saying the same for Pathankot.

Well, there is a context for this. In 1984, after Operation Blue Star, there was much debate within India on how unseemly it was, especially for a democracy, for there to be so much collateral damage. This led to the creation of the National Security Group, which is the official name for India’s iconic Black Cat commandos. The NSG has, since then, taken over most of internal special operations.

Whether it is the UK’s SAS or the various SWAT outfits in the US, minimising civilian casualties in such operations is always a priority. Some countries, however, are famously lax about them, like Russia, rendering them open season for all satirists: Russia Reiterates Zero-Tolerance Policy For Terrorists, Hostages, read a headline from The Onion once.

The performance of the Black Cats during the Mumbai attacks – though criticised within India, as any good, evolving system is supposed to be — was not all too bad. The delays in taking out all the miscreants were because civilian casualties were being minimised. A stark contrast to the Lal Masjid operation, which was a necessary operation, but one that yielded a very large number of non-combatant casualties, even by conservative estimates.

Dr Shahid Masood, the local media’s resident expert on all matters under the sun, has a different opinion. In the clip below – online viewers only – he says that, given the amount of time the Indians have spent clearing Pathankot, they should come over and seek training from the Pakistani security forces.

Training from the same army who took their time when the GHQ was attacked? Or is the good doctor talking about the Pakistan Navy and its performance during the attack on the Mehran base in Karachi?

Where, exactly, is this schadenfreude coming from?

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In general, the national news media’s take on Indo-Pak relations mirrors that of the establishment. The graces of diplomacy are perceived to be acts of selling out our national cause.

Diplomacy — otherwise the art of subtlety and whispered suggestions – is rubbished as wishy-washiness. For our man in New Delhi, the generals don’t want a mature, intelligent craftsman-diplomat. No. Nothing short of a Wagah-like goose-step from him would be acceptable. The media seems to be having the same idea of late.

Whenever there is even the slightest tension between the two countries, the media harps on about that wretched sari that the prime minister had gifted Indian premier Modi’s mother. Perhaps he should have sought her out and killed her instead?

Also completely oblivious are they to the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been elected on a right-wing, Hindu-nationalist, anti-Pakistan ticket, is taking a huge political risk by trying to mend fences with Pakistan. The decision not to let the attack in Pathankot affect the peace process is a sign of that.