Modi’s jingoism
“The foreign countries including India will continue creating hindrances in the way of Pakistan’s progress by keeping in view the ongoing China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and we must remain vigilant to foil their nefarious designs destabilising Pakistan,” – Shaikh Rohale Asghar
Pakistan and India have a long history of troubled relations and since gaining independence from the British Empire in 1947, both the countries have fought several wars including frequent border skirmishes. There are numerous unresolved issues between these two countries including those related to Kashmir and water, which are endangering the peace of the whole region of South Asia despite the fact that both the countries share a border of nearly 3000 Kilometers. Several attempts were made in the past to normalise the ties between two neighboring countries but in vain. The leaders of both the countries have met with each other in the pleasant atmosphere many times but the hawks from both the sides do not waste even a single moment to bash each other.
It is perceived that the incumbent Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi played his foreign policy cards very smartly during his ongoing stint as the PM as he invited the Chinese premier to his home state of Gujrat and gave him a warm welcome. Similar reception was given to the United States President Barack Obama when he was invited to the celebrations of Republic Day of India in New Delhi. Mr Modi stunned everyone when he visited the personal residence of his Pakistani counterpart Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in Lahore at the end of last year. This time around, he has announced that India will not participate in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit that was scheduled for November in Islamabad this year. The announcement was made in the aftermath of the Uri military attack in which 18 Indian soldiers were killed. This move by India was followed by Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan – showing the influence of India over the region. Now, it appears the cancellation of SAARC summit is apparent as the rules of SAARC states that summit cannot be held if any member state refuses to take part in the meeting.
Moreover, border skirmishes are also on the rise with two soldiers of Pakistan being martyred the other day and 7 troops of India were killed by Pakistani forces at the Line of Control (LOC). Countries including US and China have shown their grave concerns over the ongoing hostility and urged both the nations to adopt the policy of de-escalation in order to ensure the peace and stability in the region.
Shaikh Rohale Asghar, the Chairperson for the Defense Standing Committee of the National Assembly and a legislator of the ruling party, told DNA that the violation of ceasefire at LOC by Indian forces is not strange as we must be ready every time to face such situations. “The foreign countries including India will continue creating hindrances in the way of Pakistan’s progress by keeping in view the ongoing China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and we must remain vigilant to foil their nefarious designs destabilising Pakistan,” the ruling party’s lawmaker said. He was of the view that if one player is showing madness then it is the responsibility of the other player to observe the policy of restrain and Pakistan is doing so. According to him, India is very well aware of the strength of our nuclear arsenal and Modi will not take any risk to wage a war against Pakistan. “We will restrict ourselves to the policy of restraint for the sake of peace in the region but any aggression of India will be retaliated in the befitting manner,” he said. Pointing towards the anti-government movement of PTI’s leader Imran Khan, he said that Imran Khan must launch an anti-India movement to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people. He further added that all the political parties of Pakistan must unite despite of all the differences to give a strong message to the Indian aggression.
Brigadier (R) Muhammad Feyyaz, an expert in Conflict Studies who has previously taught at National Defense University (NDU) Islamabad, told DNA that the bone of contention between India and Pakistan is Kashmir and the relations between these two countries cannot be improved unless the Kashmir dispute remains unresolved. He said that both the countries were involved in the proxy wars in the past but the latest uprising of Kashmiri people after the death of Burhan Muzaffar Wani is completely indigenously driven and Pakistan has no role at all in this recent uprising. “The claim of surgical strikes by India is false as surgical strikes are not possible in an area where numerous military posts of Pakistan are established,” Feyyaz said, who has also served as a Brigade Command at LOC. According to him, the Indian troops have made an attempt of infiltration at LOC that was timely foiled by the soldiers of Pakistan Army. “There is a need to de-escalate the situation immediately and the ceasefire agreement of November 2003 must be ensured by both the countries,” added Feyyaz, currently teaching Terrorism and Conflict Studies in University of Management and Technology (UMT) these days. The border skirmishes will be continued in coming days as it will take some time to de-escalate the situation, he concluded.
“The Indian government could not suppress the Kashmir movement despite its repeated attempts and now it has resorted to the violation of ceasefire in sheer madness to take revenge from Pakistan,” Secretary General of Jamat-e-Islmai Pakistan Liaqat Baloch told DNA. He said that India has proved that it did not accept Pakistan and the latest episode of firing at LOC is a glaring example of it. It is just because of India that the future of SAARC is in jeopardy as three other member states of the organisation have decided to follow their ‘Master’, Baloch said, while talking to DNA. According to him, India desperately wants the dominance in the region with the help of America in order to curtail the growing influence of China. He further added that time has come to scrap all the trade and cultural ties with India as this country cannot be a friend of Pakistan anymore. “The Prime Minister of Pakistan must convene an All Party’s Conference (APC) immediately to chalk out a viable strategy to respond the aggression of India in a befitting manner,” he said.
“The Indian government could not suppress the Kashmir movement despite its repeated attempts and now it has resorted to the violation of ceasefire in sheer madness to take revenge from Pakistan,” – Secretary General of Jamat-e-Islmai Pakistan Liaqat Baloch
The Indian Prime Minister has also threatened to boycott the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) that was brokered by the World Bank in 1960 to resolve the water disputes between both the countries. “Blood and water cannot flow together,” jingoistic Modi said while jeopardising the international agreement in a region that is already water-stressed, according to the experts. Former Indus Water Commissioner of Pakistan Jamaat Ali Shah told DNA that it is a hollow threat by Modi as no one can unilaterally boycott the treaty. “The IWT is an agreement brokered by the world powers and it cannot be amended without the mutual consent of both the players, according to the article 12(2) and 12(3) of the treaty,” Shah said. He further added that Pakistan must approach the international arbitration court against the threat of India to boycott the IWT.
The Federal cabinet has rejected the claim of surgical strikes made by Indian government and Nawaz Sharif has called a meeting of parliamentary parties in the next week to craft a strategy against the hostilities of India.
Both the neighboring countries have been haunting by the poverty, illiteracy and unemployment since their inception but billions of rupees are being spent to increase the military arsenals. It is time to launch a mutual fight against all these evils for the progress of this region.