At a time when the entire world is fighting the coronavirus pandemic, Pakistan is continuing with its diabolical agenda of supporting terror through attacks on Indian soil.
Between India and Pakistan, the only side that has remained consistent with its policy is Islamabad, which has never diverted from its support to terror.
While India has successfully carried out punitive action whenever a big incident has taken place — 2016 surgical strike and 2019 Balakot air strikes — the need of the hour is to have a consistent and sustained policy against Pakistan.
This policy shouldn’t be just military-driven but must be multifaceted and involve diplomatic and economic measures too.
Also read: Masala tikka-flavoured snacks to AK-47s: What 5 slain Lashkar terrorists brought from Pakistan
Make Pakistan feel the pain
On 1 April, five Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists managed to sneak into Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir’s Keran sector along the Line of Control. While the five terrorists were killed in an operation – India paid a heavy price.
Five personnel from the Special Forces were killed in action.
This loss teaches India that the surgical strike and the Balakot operation have only had a temporary effect on the deep state of Pakistan. It springs back after some time to inflict fresh pain on India.
Then defence minister Manohar Parrikar had once told a group of journalists (I was one of them) over dinner at his place soon after taking the charge of the ministry.
“Why should we feel the pain always? Pakistan should feel the pain that it inflicts on us. A person who slaps will understand the pain he inflicts only when he is slapped back,” he had said in an informal discussion on military affairs and Pakistan.
Also read: 5 Special Forces men, 5 terrorists: How a deadly hand-to-hand fight at the LoC unfolded
A task remains
Subsequent Indian governments have shown that they lack a holistic policy against Pakistan and the Narendra Modi government is no exception.
India’s Pakistan policy currently remains dependent on media interest and headline-catching ability.
The Modi government has failed to have a sustained approach against Pakistan. It came in 2014 with a lot of talk and high expectations.
Even while many would credit the sword of the FATF hanging over Pakistan and US President Donald Trump’s Twitter tirade against Islamabad to India’s multifaceted approach, the fact is that it was not.
And if it indeed was, then it is a failure because Pakistan has again found favour with the US thanks to the Taliban peace initiative.
Also read: Terrorists can weaponise coronavirus. Armed forced need to be extra-vigilant
Mixed signals
The speech by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in 2014 when he warned Pakistan it would lose Balochistan if another Mumbai-like attack happened was brilliant. He spoke on the need for India to come from a defensive position to a defensive-offensive strategy.
Criticising the UPA’s reaction to 2008 Mumbai attacks, Doval said it was “weak and misplaced.”
The Modi government did live up to the expectations when it carried out the surgical strikes. But nothing happened after that and then came the Pulwama attack ahead of the Lok Sabha election in 2019.
Every single person in the defence and security community knew that the Modi government will not take it lying down. The only question was how and when was the government going to retaliate.
And hence the Balakot strike did not come as a surprise. But nothing came out of it much either.
With a strong power like China backing it, along with the tacit support of the US, Pakistan continues with its business as usual approach.
It is also business as usual for India. Pakistan-sponsored terrorists killed five soldiers and one CRPF jawan in Kashmir in the last one week. The saga continues.
Views are personal.
One can assume that your medium has a bias tilted in favour of Pakistan. My vidw6 iss that your view or that of the opinion of one writer is continued talks. Talks have gone on variously. The response has been graduated antagonistic steps currently manifested in Terrorism. Talks would seem to have been with the wall!!. Not going nowhere fast.
It is a shame to see the response of India and the false news that’s being spread. Iv looked at both news channels India and Pakistan. However, it is sad to see how India portraits Pakistan, whereas in Pakistan they only discuss the issue not falsify or encourage the whole matter.
COVID19 is a war itself. Our people are dying not in a few but huge numbers. Instead of fighting we could use that energy to help our people. India was also on the news last year and again. Let’s be cival with Pakistan and be like good neighbours.
Muslims are willing to kill evry hindu man, woman and child. For a Hindu, Muslims are the greatest threat to its life and not Chinese corona virus.
The print should stop publishing biased views
There is no point of wasting time in bilateral meetings and dialogue as it has not yielded any results from past 50 years
Pakistan should be dealt ruthlessly
This article is critical of government as it may be funded or supporters of any other political parties
The crux is this: The top leaders of both India and Pakistan pledged publicly to the Kashmiri people that Nehru and Liaquat would honour the Kashmiris’ right of self-determination, while the honest broker United Nations would make sure that the Kashmiris’ BASIC HUMAN RIGHT was delivered. That has not happened.
Officially, India insists that that right has been unilaterally delivered by New Delhi. Could the U.N. take an opinion poll on that brazenial at least?
Shame on the global system’s leaders who should have momentarily turned away from large consumer markets and fat defence contracts and instead insisted that both India and Pakistan honour their pledge to the Kashmiris.
Pakistanis are not afraid of its manifold larger enemy as well as India’s brazenness . India is real terrorist country who committed acts of terrorism against almost all its minorities like Sikhs , Christian and the Muslims. One of your terrorist is your Premier who admitted in Bangladesh that India was privy to disintegrate by creating and arming Mukti Bahini. In subcontinent, a person who creates misunderstanding between two brothers in their destruction is popularly known as bastard. India never accepted Pakistan from the very inception but Pakistan accepted India . Pakistan did not make any admission as State but India made again and again. Pakistanis are able to defend their country . India should also restrained from blame-games. KARAMAT HUSSAIN JANJUA.
I will repeat the oft repeated comment
India is not USA and Pakistan is not Afghanistan
It implies .. India doesn’t have the capacity to do which the author is day dreaming
Another Abhinandan will get his backside kicked again..
Both countries need to chill out, maybe try some anti-depressants or relaxing pharmaceuticals, drop the guns, sort it out like humans, enough of Muslim and Hindu terrorism.
LET attacked based on whose intelligence? Indian side of the border supposedly heavily guarded electronically supplied by Israel. In reality, majority of the attacks are home grown but the governments doesn’t want to admit. It is about time they accept the reality.
This is a foolish article that illustrates a poor strategic and self defeating mindset. Victory doesn’t look like a pacified Pakistan that gives up terrorism in one single stroke. What’s needed is a continued response to provocations as they occur. We taught them that there was very little cost of terror over 50 years. It will take decades to unlearn.
India only needs to build up it’s own economic strength and protect itself from terrorism. Pakistan is pretty much capable of messing itself up, without India having to do much. Pakistan ceased to exist in 1971 and what remains is just a mercenary army running a rump state. No need for India to lose sleep.
Idiotic article.. Pakistan will retaliate on any military action of India.. Result War.. Kashmir needs political settlement..
No issue than you must get ready for another 1971.
Where your own banana republic is a military state, how can anyone “political” work?
So should we nuke Pakistan ? Manohar Parrikar, who spent his weekends in Goa, did express some stray thoughts on the subject.
The only solution is a sustained dialogue over whole of Jammu & Kashmir between India, Pakistan & Kashmiris. Initial work was done by Vajpayee & Musharraf….it should be taken forward…..there is no other solution !!!!
Talks with Pak? ?
what policy can India adopt? The writer should have mentioned here.
The problem with the cabinet is that the experts are outside and people who do not even understand that Effect of surgical and Balakot strikes gone are part of the CCS.
They have no capacity to think that piecemeal policies against Pakistan won’t work.
Then defence minister Manohar Parrikar had once told a group of journalists (I was one of them) over dinner at his place soon after taking the charge of the ministry.
The message in the above statement is ” (I was one of them) over dinner at his place”
This is how the power brokers surface, the next step would be to start selling oneself.
Snehesh while agreeing to your views, i must point out that , military and being a terrorist are only two occupations which can earn ANY PAKISTANI significant amount of WEALTH, RESPECT and SEX in Pakistan. So they use their huge out of work population feeding on their religious dogma that killing non believers can lead them to HEAVEN AFTER DEATH. While people controlling them are enjoying HEAVEN on EARTH.
@Shailesh The best response do far.