The hostility and belligerence on the part of Indian state has touched a new height and the worst part of its is that the Indian army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat has dreamed of conducting a surgical strike inside the Pakistani territory. In a media interview Gen. Rawat said that time was ripe for such action. “I believe there is a need for one more action (surgical strike). But I will not disclose how we intend to go about it,” Rawat said. Issuing such kind of reckless provocative statements and hurling threats to Pakistan demonstrates Indian military’s ill-will and its malice against the state of Pakistan and the people of Kashmir who have been fighting for their just cause promised to them by no less an authority than the united nations. Rather than resolving the core political disputes through peaceful means India has been in the habit of creating an atmosphere of war by peddling jingoistic narratives notwithstanding the fact that any misadventure between the two states will lead to a full-fledged nuclear confrontation in the region. These off the cuff statements and boastful claims show nothing but complete lack of discipline and professionalism within the Indian army hierarchy. Unfortunately, the top brass of the Indian army is behaving like that of common politicians, issuing statements, not befitting to their office. However, this is not for the first time that the top General of the Indian army had made this kind of inciting and warmongering remarks.
Earlier, in January 2018 Gen Rawat was reported to have said that the force (Indian army) was ready to call Pakistan’s ‘nuclear bluff’ and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government. The fact is that Indian government and its military establishment are accustomed to causing a hullabaloo on every important global occasions. In 2016 when world leaders were set to meet at UN general assembly session in New York, New Delhi, racked up the issue of so-called cross-border terrorism and this time around Indians again resorted to some of the same tactics, which it has been using as a tool to divert the attention of the global community from atrocities its forces have been committing in held Kashmir. To the contrary, Pakistan had always expressed its willingness for talks with India to resolve all bilateral issues including the core issue of Kashmir through political and diplomatic means. It was under this spirit that the newly elected government had offered an olive branch to New Delhi but the short-witted leadership of India lost this chance by not availing the opportunity. Rather than paying a heed to Islamabad’s peace overtures New Delhi called off the proposed foreign ministers meeting, deliberately thwarted the move, which would otherwise have been proved helpful in resuming dialogue process.
A window of opportunity offered to reset bilateral ties has been lost yet again because of Modi’s “no-talk policy” with Pakistan but sooner or later New Delhi will have to realise the reality that is no other way but dialogue to resolve disputes no matter how complicated they are. India needs to understand that closing eyes, shutting the doors for dialogue and running away from realities is not going to help any way. And the reality, which the Indians need to face is that Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute, the people of Kashmir are fighting for their legitimate political rights and it’s totally unfair to blame Pakistan for unrest in the disputed region.
