‘Jaw-jaw is always better than war-war’
Recent inflammatory statements emanating from the highest quarters across the border and lately the sabre-rattling rhetoric from the General Officer Commanding in Indian Held Kashmir warning of a ‘befitting reply with full force’ appears to have taken the Pakistanis by surprise. The across-the-board ferocity of the reaction in India to the unfortunate events on the LoC is indeed astonishing. From the de-facto Prime Minister Sonia Gandhi to the president Pranab Mukerjee, from the resolution passed by the Lok Sabha to the BJP and the media’s frenzied outbursts against Pakistan and now Major Gen V.P.Singh’s ominous remarks, it would seem that the whole of India has been transformed into one vast war-mongering hawk. The few voices of sanity that remained on either side have effectively been silenced and sidelined for the present. There have been exchanges of heavy weapons at various points on the LoC and civilians on our side have been killed. Agitators in India have attempted to storm our embassy, disrupted the friendship bus service twice and threatened the PIA offices. A dangerous uncertainty hangs in the air.
The wild Indian response rests on their hypothetical claim that the killing of their five soldiers on the LoC that triggered the later chain of events was carried out by what they now term ‘border action team’(BAT) supposedly amix of ‘Pakistan special forces personnel and terrorists’. As is the norm, no concrete evidence or proof and the rationale behind arriving at this tinderbox conclusion was made available to their counterparts on the military hot line. What exactly does India hope to achieve by involving the Pakistan Army in the affair through this freshly minted phrase? Already over-stretched in the war on terror on the eastern front against a ruthless foe, it is unlikely on the part of the already besieged force to resort to such suicidal tactics on the LoC – which has remained relatively quiet since 2003. From the ‘same page’ reaction across India, it would appear that the eastern neighbor has alarmingly decided on a definite course of action at a time when Pakistan is beset by severe internal problems. But it would also be a catastrophic mistake if India were to embark on a misadventure against a nuclear armed state which already finds itself wedged in a tight corner, due at least in part to the hostile intrigues of the former, as even in their ‘considerable contribution’ to the devastating floods in Pakistan by massive releases of water in the Ravi and Sutlej.
As is well known Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is the foremost proponent of good relations with India and has made this plain on numerous occasions since he has been elected. All his business instincts and no doubt plain common sense drive him on the path of better trade relations with the giant neighbour, which would greatly benefit the peoples of both countries, millions of whom live below the poverty line, not to say, at starvation level. It is essential that India step back, as ‘to jaw-jaw is always better than war-war’.
your editorial is similar to the ones written by the likes of you during kargil war. only to realise later that your government was lying to you & indian actions were justified in every way. compare the two situation & ask you leaders to tell you the truth. may be that will set you free from your delusions.
If Nawaz is so intent in peace with India then why did the Kargil war happened during his earlier tenure, there are so many evidence that he knew all the details of military and maybe was hand in glove with Musharraf. Trusting Nawaz should be on the theme of maybe some foolish man dream. Present day foreign policy of Pakistan is in the hands of army, and it will be foolish of generals if they let go this power to some civilian govt. Also, it's always good to make demons of this or that for the Pak army people, as it keeps their importance intact.
Great article. Thanks for sharing
Comments are closed.