India, Pakistan and unveiled threats

Daily Times

In an unsettling display of muscle flexing, neighbouring India recently paraded its newest long range nuclear missile Agni V that reportedly can hit anywhere in China and even as far off as some areas in Europe. The occasion was India’s Republic Day and it was marked by a barely diplomatic choice of words when Indian President Pranab Mukherjee stated that India was ready to extend the hand of friendship to Pakistan but that the friendship should not be “taken for granted”. That the president, who holds an extremely important position of responsibility, especially when it comes to India’s relationship with Pakistan, should speak so harshly and hastily after the recent hostilities at the Line of Control (LoC) is surprising. A spate of deadly attacks has taken place at the LoC where Pakistan claims that three of its soldiers were killed by Indian army men followed by counter-allegations by India that Pakistani soldiers killed two of theirs, brutally beheading one of them. Both sides have refuted these claims. Both countries seem to be at a communications standoff with India’s latest extensions of friendship being offered but without any real commitment to the cause. It is also extremely alarming that the Indian president decided to use such deliberately scorching words on the day his country was exhibiting a mighty nuclear weapon — intimidation or threat? This particular statement highlights the growing concern about the nuclear arms race in the region, especially between two neighbours as bitterly divided in the past as Pakistan and India. The peace process that the two countries laboured so meticulously over after a tense silence following the Mumbai attacks in 2008 is an effort that must be nurtured and seen through. Just getting both countries to the table, willing to approach their respective issues with ears and minds open is achievement enough. Seeing it through is the real challenge. And it is this challenge that many of the detractors of the peace process wish to sabotage in any way possible. It is pertinent that the authorities, whether diplomatic or military, on both sides of the border understand this fact. It is vital that the Indian authorities look into the possibility that non-state actors may have carried out the attack on their soldiers. The Pakistan army is not known for such acts of mutilation. Funnily enough, some segments of the Indian media have pointed out that the Indian army, in fact, resorts to such brutalities at times by decapitating and piking the heads of our soldiers. It is with this backstory that one realises how the Indian authorities hardly have the moral high ground to issue such visible threats to Pakistan. Those who have a stake in the peace process and composite dialogue between India and Pakistan must understand that maturity, humility and a real commitment to preserving the delicate balance needs to exist if non-state actors are to be defeated. A bilateral settlement between both sides must be initiated instead of the blame game that is being touted. Now is not the time to whip up war clouds because, if real, effective communication is not established, then the bigger picture is lost. India and Pakistan are in dire need of effective statesmanship and restraint otherwise the fragile peace will not take too long to dissolve.