And its fallout
It is a set pattern. Every time a terrorist incident takes place in the Indian Occupied Kashmir the ubiquitous Pakistani hand is seen behind it by New Delhi.
The deadly Pulwama attack in which over forty CRPF personnel perished was the bloodiest in the past thirty years or so. The Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) proscribed since 2002 taking responsibility provided the smoking gun that the Indians so badly needed to cover their massive intelligence failure.
The fact that the Kashmiri youth Adil Ahmed Dar who perpetrated the suicide attack belonged to the Valley had not crossed over from the line of control (LOC) was conveniently swept under the carpet. Admittedly he belonged to JEM, but more importantly the explosive device used was locally made.
In the aftermath of the dastardly attack a jingoistic hysteria has been created in India. The BJP leadership as well as the Indian media is baying for blood.
Apart from revoking the MFN (Most Favoured Nation) for Pakistan, all kinds of measures including suspension of sports and cultural ties are being invoked. Kashmiri Muslims especially the youth are being harassed and traumatized in the process.
One is shocked at the manner in which anyone trying to talk sanity in talk shows on multifarious Indian news channels is shouted down by foaming at the mouth anchors. Resultantly many discussants have no choice but to take off their microphones and leave.
A clean break from the past, the Pakistani polity as well as the media has given a more nuanced coverage. Despite the media playing a positive role the PTI’s information juggernaut assiduously keeps insisting that the Pakistani media is obsolete and history.
The DG ISPR (Director General Inter-Services Public Relations) major general Asif Ghafoor has thankfully acknowledged the media’s positive role in his recent press conference. But little do the information apparatchiks understand the present warfare is much fought on the airwaves and by the pen as much on the battlefront.
Prime minister Imran Khan in his address to the nation gave a measured but a firm response to New Delhi’s bellicose behaviour. So did the National Security Committee chaired by the PM and attended by the service chiefs where he formally authorized the armed forces “to respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure by India.”
But the civilian and military leadership perhaps at the same time realizes that jihadist groups of different hues and colours cannot be given a free pass to mess around with our national security interests. As a direct consequence of the NSC meeting Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniyat have been banned.
Better late than never! The government has also decided to accelerate action against other proscribed organizations.
However in the present international environment half hearted or tentative measures will not do. Hafiz Saeed linked organizations were banned last year through a presidential ordinance. But as soon as the ordnance lapsed they were back in business.
The fact that the Kashmiri youth Adil Ahmed Dar who perpetrated the suicide attack belonged to the Valley had not crossed over from the line of control (LOC) was conveniently swept under the carpet.
Hopefully in the ‘naya Pakistan’ where the civilian and military leadership are working in tandem, a zero tolerance policy towards such groups will be adopted. The likes of erstwhile ‘strategic assets’ JEM‘s chief Maulana Masood Azhar cannot be given a free pass to use Pakistan as their safe haven.
According to the interior ministry the government has already taken control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanullah in Bahawalpur reportedly the Headqurters of Jaish and has appointed an administrator to manage its affairs.
If there was any doubt that the world has no longer any stomach for non-state actors perpetrating their jihadist agenda it is clear from the UNSC (UN Security Council), resolution condemning the Pulwama attacks. In a statement read by the world body, it singled out Jaish-e-Muhammad as the perpetrators behind the attack.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) after its recent meeting has expressed concern over Islamabad’s “inability to demonstrate understanding of terror financing risks posed by seven proscribed organizations and elements risked to the Taliban”.
Without naming Pakistan the UNSC statement, “underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financers, and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable.”
Notwithstanding New Delhi’s anti Pakistan rhetoric, the need for setting our own house in order ASAP cannot be overemphasized here.
Of course everyone knows now that the festering wounds of the Kashmiris are perpetrated by the genocidal policies of the police and the Indian security forces and not by aatankwadis from across as the Indians claim.
The previous year was the deadliest in a decade in terms of civilian casulties in IOK (Indian occupied Kashmir). Rights group, Jammu Kashmir Coalition lists 586 dead in its annual 2018 toll: 267 militants 160 civilian- including 31 children- and the rest police and Indian armed forces.
Nonetheless for Pakistan morally and diplomatically supporting an essentially indigenous movement is a cornerstone of its foreign and security policy. Kashmir being the unfinished agenda of independence, there is no gainsaying those relevant UN resolutions on Kashmir must be implemented.
But right now there is no moral or international diplomatic pressure on India to do so. That is why it is all the more necessary that Pakistan is not perceived as fishing in troubled waters.
Notwithstanding New Delhi’s anti Pakistan rhetoric, the need for setting our own house in order ASAP cannot be overemphasized here.
The prime minister in his address to the nation offered an olive branch to New Delhi by saying that Islamabad is willing to act on actionable intelligence. Pakistan in variance with its past stance has unconditionally expressed willingness to discuss terrorism with New Delhi. But of course India will not do so since it has no evidence whatsoever to implicate Pakistan in the dastardly attack.
The Indian officialdom and commentariat is adamant that Khan’s address was cheeky and tantamount to taunting India. They have accused him of not condemning the Pulwama attack or expressing any remorse.
No doubt the loss of life in the suicide attack in held Kashmir was a human tragedy. But so is the unabated reign of terror unleashed by New Delhi in held Kashmir
The army’s spokesman in his presser has correctly pointed out that Pakistan is a peace loving country and any misadventure (by the Indians) will be paid back in the same coin. He sternly advised India “not to mess with Pakistan as its army is quite capable of dealing with a full spectrum threat.”
The major general as a military man knows fully well that war between the two nuclear-armed adversaries is in neither country’s interest. Hopefully the Indian leadership will start diffusing the situation for the sake of peace rather than raising the ante with an eye on the upcoming general elections.
Even the former Indian spy A.S. Daulat has warned Modi that war is not a picnic, and that he should opt for aggressive diplomacy rather than saber rattling. This is sane advice from Modi’s own ilk.
