India, Pakistan again in war hysteria

What if a war really breaks out amid war of words?

The closure of airspace and motorway for Pakistan Air Force’s Highmark drives on 22 September had already triggered speculation on social and mainstream media of the country while ‘Indian-claimed surgical strike’ on Thursday gave an added pinch to the war hysteria.

The already tense Pak-India relations have worsened after the Uri base attack in Kashmir and the war hysteria after several ceasefire violations by the Indian army along the Line of Control (LoC).

The Uri attack on 18 September, killing 18 Indian soldiers,was allegedly carried out by four Jaish-e-Mohammad militants, who are claimed to have come from across the LoC. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to punish those behind this ‘cowardly’ and ‘despicable’ attack. “We strongly condemn the cowardly terror attack in Uri. I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished,” Modi said in his tweets after the attack.

Moreover, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singhhas also been disappointed with Pakistan’s continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups.“Pakistan is a terrorist state and it should be identified and isolated as such,” Singh said on Twitter.

To this, Pakistan, like always, responded that India is making premature allegations against the country. This time around, when Pakistan has been raising the atrocities in Kashmir by Indian armed forces at the international level and is lobbying for the Kashmir cause, Pakistan has given a relatively stronger reply. Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria denied the Indian allegation,saying: “Pakistan is always blamed for any untoward incident in India while on the contrary, India itself is involved in terrorism in Pakistan and is trying to divert the world’s attention from Kashmir.”

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif also came down hard on India and reiterated that Pakistan is ready to thwart any design against its territorial integrity and sovereignty. “We are fully cognizant and closely watching the latest happenings in the region and their impact on the security of Pakistan,” he said.

While India has been trying to initiate a war with Pakistan for it being a ‘sponsor of terror’ in the region, Pakistan keeps repeating its stance that this Indian move is to hide its atrocities in Kashmir. The ‘Indian-claimed surgical strike’ along the LoC on 29 September further aggravated the situation. This, too, was denied by Pakistan in an ISPR statement that read:“The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists’ bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects.”

The prime minister of Pakistan has always welcomed a bilateral dialogue and has gone ‘an extra mile’to achieve this, as he stressed in his address at the 71^st United Nations General Assemblysession that “Pakistan wants peace with India and I have gone an extra mile to achieve this, repeatedly offering a dialogue to address all outstanding issues. But India has posed unacceptable preconditions to engage in a dialogue.Let us be clear: talks are no favour to Pakistan. Talks are in the interest of both countries. They are essential to resolve our differences, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and to avert the danger of any escalation.”

Despite repeated offers from Pakistan to hold a talk, the Indian side sticks to its stance of Pakistan promoting cross-border terrorism.“Together with the Pathankot airbase attack earlier, there have been continuous attempts by armed terrorists to cross the LoC and international border to strike in India,”Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup alleged.

India had openly come out with the challenge to ‘isolate’ Pakistan. Modi in his Kerala address said, “We will isolate you. I will work for that.” Modi himself deviates from his words as in the same address he says, “Let us wage war on poverty, let’s wage war on infant mortality and maternal mortality rates. Let us wage war in our own countries and see who wins.” Later on, when it threatens to stop the flow of water to Pakistan, it says“Blood and water can’t flow together.”

The closure of airspace and motorway for Pakistan Air Force’s Highmark drives on 22 September had already triggered speculation on social and mainstream media of the country while ‘Indian-claimed surgical strike’ on Thursday gave an added pinch to the war hysteria.

This war of words and political propaganda is not new. History shows that such rhetoric is created every few years as it helps justify the military’s narrative and also supports the sentiments of people on both sides of the border

DNA talked tosenior journalist and analyst Nasir Baig Chughtai about this war frenzy.

“I don’t think there is going to be an open or large-scale war. At least 14 Indian soldiers died in Thursday’s firing along the LoC but no one even picked up their bodies,” Chughtai said, and added that the United States, Britain and European Union had commercial interests in India; they would need to withdraw their investments if a war really broke out so the West would not like a war in the region.

Chughtai was of the view that if a war takes place, it would endanger Pakistan’s survival. India will try to end Pakistan and Pakistan has all the ability to strike back. Citing how General Musharraf said, “Atom bomb is not for show case,” the analyst said, “We will strike back with full power.”

“India would not be mad enough to start a war but who knows, Modi is an extremist. We can expect anything from him. In my opinion, there are only 35 percent chances of a war to break out. If this really happens, no one will win but better be dead than to be ruled by someone,” another analyst Zafar Hilaly said while talking to DNA.

We are fully prepared for a war and we will strongly strike back. India has always been beaten back by Pakistan and in some cases, they have not even been able to cross the LoC, the analyst said, and added it depends upon India if it escalates the war and if this happens, we would also go nuclear as we built a nuclear bomb for no other purpose but to defend ourselves.

This war of words and political propaganda is not new. History shows that such rhetoric is created every few years as it helps justify the military’s narrative and also supports the sentiments of people on both sides of the border. Since the two countries hold the status of nuclear-states, there is a clear threat to the existence of being if a war really breaks out. This time, the confrontation with India is stronger. And no matter, how ‘prepared’ Pakistan is to give a ‘befitting reply to the enemy’ – war is war. It only brings destruction. The previous wars fought by the two neighbours are already quoted in history. What was their outcome? What good did it do to the region and the countries themselves?

Whether or not it turns nuclear, war can never be a solution to the problem. India would eventually have to de-escalate and come down to the negotiating table as the entire world wants peace and harmony in the region.The US has already urged both countries to exercise restraint and reminded that nuclear capable states do not threaten to use atomic weapons in any conflict. It is imperative that sanity prevails on both sides and warmongers are defeated otherwise there would be a nuclear winter in India as well.This is an era of economic wars, not conventional combat.