Pakistan has been using terror groups as militant proxies against India ever since it came into existence. It has also been linked to many terror attacks in many parts of the world. It channels billions of dollars for training and deploying terrorists against India. Recent terror attacks planned and executed by Pakistan have once again shattered the possibility of peace with our neighbor. Government’s assurances, time and again, that it will take effective action to arrest such dastardly acts by Pakistan, has lost credibility. The mood of the nation is such that India has no option but to punish Pakistan.
However, it is unfortunate that a man in the street, unaware of the complexities involved, thinks that state as an institution has been reduced to the level of fire brigade, which is professionally incompetent, but has to resort to fire-fighting operations with sickening monotony. The whole world (with the exception of powers which are concerned only with their expansionist approach) knows it fully well that aim of Pakistan’s low intensity conflict is to slowly but surely bleed “Hindu India” to death even though it has no case in Kashmir.
Pakistan conveniently forgets that the worst form of violation of human rights is terrorism. It couldn’t careless whether it is called a Garrison State, or a Rogue State or even a Terrorist State. India may pat its back that it has foiled all attempts by Pakistan to involve international powers and kept it as a bilateral issue only, but on military front we have adopted a defensive posture all along. Our concern for creating a positive impression on the international community and hence maintaining constraint has emboldened Pakistan; it is doing what any enemy would do, unfortunately, our knee-jerk reactions in most of the situations have made the matters worse.
There is no doubt in any one’s mind that Pakistan’s only agenda is to organize material and moral support for Kashmir from its shores and continue making concerted efforts to get such support from other Islamic countries. Right message through a befitting reply was handed over to Pakistan in the Kargil war, but we failed to cash on it and did not design a suitable policy to counter the Jehad against India as suggested by Subramaniam Committee. It is unfortunate that we as a nation have not learnt any lessons even after such an expensive experience of dealing with Pakistan.
Now is the right time for India to play a pro-active role through diplomatic channels to push for declaring Pakistan a terrorist state. Some of the options are in the public domain and are being discussed by TV channels and newspapers. However, governments have their own system of initiating close scrutiny of practically viable options by an appropriate government authority and suitable calibrated response is provided at the right time. Anti- Pakistan emotions in the country cannot force a mature democracy like ours to take immature actions.
Average Indian may not understand all the complexities involved in dealing with Pakistan and bashing on regardless as suggested by emotionally charged individuals and groups cannot become a pragmatic solution. We must move beyond bluster and beat the war drums slowly. We should expect Pakistan to approach different world forums with all the sound and fury and be ready to deal with its belligerence and distorted narratives. India must up the ante and change the way it has been talking and thinking about it but military response is a different ball game.
It is a fact of life that neither we can forget the Mughal rule nor can Pakistan forget the shame and humiliation of Bangladesh. Yet, there is no doubt that the time is ripe for Prime Minister Modi to catch the bull by the horn. By now, we understand our own and our adversary’s strengths and weaknesses so well that a suitable action to teach Pakistan a lesson of life is certainly possible. Modi’s detractors sight his reference to Balochistan in his Independence Day address as one of the reasons of escalation in terror activities without appreciating the fact that it is too late that we have spoken for a just cause, perhaps it ought to have been done earlier.
It is unfortunate that even in the face of such grave threats, some political parties are thinking of their narrow short-term gains, such forces must be ruthlessly made to shut-up. Even in our kind of deformed democracy, a leader with political will can achieve this easily. It is high time we act as a responsible and mature but bold nation which is led by leader who has the potential to find reasonable and fair solution to the problems facing us, terror attacks by our neighbor being on the top of priority list.
Let us not earn the dubious distinction of being the most hijacked nation in the world which can be hijacked emotionally, psychologically and physically by any adventurist who dares to do that. A nation of 140 crore people definitely deserves better than that.
Pakistan has been raising the bogy of nuclear weapons in their arsenal time and again because India’s image in the world is that of a status-quo state which is not ready to change its stance. Our present system of intelligence collection and dissemination of the same as far as nuclear threat is concerned must become more effective without giving undue weightage to the enemy threats.
Conventional warfare is there to stay, as use of nuclear weapon systems will be limited to specific areas and up to a particular depth and the enemy understands the consequences of use of these. We must understand that the policy of peaceful co-existence and our adversary’s that of offensive action to deal us with a death blow must change to “offensive defence”. Happily, it is already visible on the ground to some extent.
The present care-taker government of Pakistan is following in the footsteps of Musharraf who had similarly landed himself in a catch 22 situation and had raced towards the doom which is the ultimate fate of every dictator. It is well-known that all Pakistani rulers whether dictators or civilians in the garb of democracy have been masterminding Islamic terrorism, the ugliest face of terror, basically to bleed India. In the process, Pakistan has come to a stage that it is now doomed to degenerate from a “Garrison State” to a “Rouge State” to a “Terrorist State”.
Most of the powers of the world, barring China, recognise Pakistan as a barbarian and ruthless State which has no respect for democratic norms and believes in bloodshed and killing of innocent people for resolving any issues. U S and Russia may have their own problems in declaring Pakistan a “Terrorist State” but it is clear to them that Pakistan alone is responsible for breeding cross-border terrorism. Pakistan has been exposed globally and is in the process of getting isolated; it can no more get away with having the best of both the worlds, condemning terrorism by claiming that it is the worst sufferer and masterminding it at the same time.
India can expose Pakistan by letting the world know the “How” and “Why” of it wanting to model itself on the pattern of an Islamic State. Scholars believe that Islam has nowhere stated the exact form and structure of an Islamic government; it only stipulates the aims and fundamental principles to be followed by such a government. A reasonable and fair point of view is that out of many forms of governments only that is most suitable in and effective for the people of that country which is popular and which conducts its affairs in a democratic and competent manner.
A government can be popular only if its people accept its authority willingly and love and respect the laws framed by it. May be people’s faith in a particular religion is one factor which can generate reverence for the laws framed in the name of the faith. Since Pakistan has religion as its base for governance, it tends to believe that people love and respect the laws of the government as these have a divine origin.
If that were to be true and hypothetically there was only one religion in the world, mother earth would have been a very peaceful planet. But one cannot expect every individual to have one faith, in respect of social and legal rights if they were allowed independent thinking and were spared the influence of fear –motivation of the fundamentalists. Pakistan tries to justify the misuse of authority even cruelty, in the name of power which it draws from God.
In its 75 years of existence, sometimes under the façade of democracy and sometimes under the rule of some autocrat dictator, Pakistan has proved time and again that it has no respect for law and no love for its teeming millions who are being pushed below the subsistence level every day that passes. Admittedly, every religion or faith has its boundaries and parameters and narrow confines to suit its teachings, yet no religion should give sanctions to forced conversions, demolition of places of worship, whipping of poor and powerless, encouraging terrorism in the name obedience to religious norms and denying popular rule.
The objectives of any Islamic government are to ensure equality and social justice amongst its masses. This is supported by what the Prophet declared, “All Muslims are as equal as the teeth of a comb.” Treatment meted out to women in Pakistan is clear violation of the teachings of the Prophet. Pakistan has been conducting its affairs, and has governed its people since its creation, in a manner that is considered unholy and totally against the tenants of Islam. It has been drifting away from the basic goals of peaceful co-existence, fair play and social justice, which is the backbone of Islamic philosophy. Its history, rampart with misuse of authority by its military rulers and mismanagement of its resources, belies all hopes of her going in the direction which will take it anywhere near an ideal Islamic State.
It is time Pakistan took stock of its unnecessary pretensions of governance in the name of Allah and devotes itself to the serious business of pragmatic rule of law and peaceful co-existence with India. India, for obvious reasons has the highest stakes in having a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as its interests are not served if civilian rule is undermined there. Poor and desperate Pakistan is dangerous for the world as a whole and particularly for India; hence strengthening its stability and enhancement of its well-being is of utmost importance for us. One can only pray to Allah to give Pakistan wisdom to govern herself in a reasonable manner, to live in peace and give her neighbours a chance to help them in doing so.
Col DS Cheema is an Army veteran, a prolific writer and author.
Col DS Cheema
