India’s Refusal to talk

Hubris can only lead to more bloodshed

The military machines of Pakistan and India, equipped as they are with nuclear weapons and multiple delivery systems, can inflict so much devastation on each other and the two countries that no sane person can think of their going to war whatever the cause. Pakistan and India have several disputes which have become complicated with the passage of time. The only rational way to resolve these is through talks. India says it wants bilateral talks but refuses to hold them on one pretext or another. Last month New Delhi turned down an offer by Trump administration to help de-escalate tensions between the neighbouring countries. More recently it rejected the offer made by President Tayyep Erdogan for a multilateral dialogue on Kashmir on the ground that it was opposed to any move of the type as a matter of principle.

India has continued to avoid holding dialogue during the last three years on one pretext or another. It has used attacks by militants at Pathankot and Uri to justify its policy of no parleys. Many had expected that Modi would agree to talks once elections had been held in key Indian states. This failed to happen. India has meanwhile tried its level best to isolate Pakistan, an exercise that failed to pay off. The latest issue that has ratcheted up temperature on the LoC is the Indian claim of a lethal ambush on its side of the Line by Pakistan’s Border Action Force leading to the decapitation of two Indian soldiers. Pakistan has denied any responsibility for the incident and has called for actionable information.

There is a perception that the hullabaloo raised by India is meant to cover up the ongoing repression in Indian held Kashmir where Indian army, CRPF, Rashtriya Rifles and police have crossed all limits in the violation of human rights. India has ignored protests from all over the world against the use of pellet guns on stone pelting boys, turning many blind. Its army is using Kashmiris as human shields. New Delhi needs to realise that it cannot hoodwink the world by its propaganda.