And what the government is doing to tackle them
The exchange of cross border firing between Pakistan and India became vicious on Wednesday after the reported mutilation of an Indian soldier’s body a day earlier. Indian Northern Command vowed revenge, promising heavy retribution. After the statement several innocent civilians along with three soldiers have been killed on this side of the LoC. Reprisals by Pakistan army are likely to cause similar casualties on the other side. Incidents of the sorts can lead the two countries into war without either side desiring it. To stop the situation from further deterioration Pakistan and India need to resume a meaningful dialogue. Presently there is a lack of political will on both sides to stop the hostilities
The incidents on the country’s eastern border are yet another indication of the overwhelming foreign policy challenges Pakistan faces. With both India and Afghanistan being hostile, the country is in a nutcracker. Meanwhile it has been denied F-16s while much of the funding from the US has stopped after Islamabad’s relations with the US came under strain. Donald Trump’s victory could further add to Pakistan’s problems. The situation underlines the need for a thorough review of the foreign policy.
Days before the induction of the new COAS, the government has made a baby step towards bringing foreign affairs under the control of the civilian administration. Sartaj Aziz has announced a policy making mechanism which is supposed to receive feed backs from all relevant stake holders, civilian as well as military. The ministries of defence, interior and information will be represented in the committee side by side with the Military Operations Directorate, ISI and IB. The committee would be chaired by the Foreign Secretary to allow the Foreign Office to plays a central role in the process. The committee has been tasked with hammering out a “doable and sustainable” India- Kashmir policy. One wishes the experiment success with hopes that the scope of the committee would be extended to the entire gamut of foreign policy issues over time.