DK Kotwal
In 1999 Atal Bihari Vajpayee had a bus travel to Lahore to improve the relations between the two countries, in return got Kargil war. Modis’lahore landing was certainly bold ,it has not yet proved to be the game changer that perhaps he too hoped it would be. Instead the same kind of terrorists attack that has always accompanied India-Pakistan engagement hit Pathankot in the early hours of January 2. We have had similar attacks in the past , it should not surprise anyone.
By not calling off talks immediately after the attack, the Modi Government seems to indicate that it will not allow these groups the satisfaction of achieving those aims. A sustained dialogue is the only fitting answer to terrorist groups and to the handlers inside the Pakistan establishment who wish to sabotage the peace process. In fact Sushma Swaraj External Affairs Minister told parliament last month that India would not be provoked by saboteurs who want to stop the dialogue. In one or the other going forward, the talks must be insulated from the Veto’ of these forces. Firstthe foreign secretaries must move quickly to set up a time table of meetings of all the secretaries involved in the comprehensive dialogue. The process will get momentum if India and Pakistan agree to a resolution on what are often called the ”The low hanging fruit”of issues such as visas, confidence building measures on the line of control,water issues and Sir Creek dispute . The more issues they are asked to agree on the greater their chances of addressing thelargest issues that hold back ties today that of terrorism and Kashmir .On this , it is for Pakistan to show its good intentions ,by acting against JeM and LeTboth in court and on the groundin Punjab where they run extensive militias. India must stay the course it has set in the past month including during the National Security Advisers talk, where it has delivered its message firmly ,but quietly with no hint of the one -upmanshipthat can hamper the engagement. These actions will pave theroad that was opened by the two prime ministers on the Christmas day, allowing them to slice through the proverbial Gordian knot on India-Pakistan ties, rather than having to disentangle the ends that constantly threatened to strangle the peace in the Subcontinent.
The peace process must continue and at the same time India must not lower its guard. We cannot allow our people, soldiers and police personnel to be killed by the militants from across the border and Pakistan needs to own up responsibility and deal with such elements firmly. They know where the problem lies and they must resolve it, we salute the martyrs for their bravery. To face and thwart the terrorist attack like one on Pathankot air baseit has become necessary to evolve India’s national security doctrine to include its response to non-state actors. Political consensus must be evolved, in a publically transparent manner reflecting the complex challenge the country has been facing. The doctrine must be accompanied by a national security strategy that spells out the command and control structure for meeting eventualities such as terror strike, so that last minute goof-ups such as those that have been evident at the pathankot air base are not repeated. The recurring terrorist attacks are not just a humiliation for the country but also a nightmare that is repeatedly disrupting daily routines and taking away precious lives.
Modi’s Christmas surprise ;a quick stop over in Lahore to wish happy birth day to PM Pakistan and congratulate on his grand daughter’s wedding appeared an unprecedented gesture from India of good will. Both the leaders underscored the need to understand the issues ,concerns and desires of each other.They also agreed to take steps to improve the relations between the two countries and work in this regard.They also agreed to enhance people to people contacts and developing such an environment for the purpose.Now the question arises : was Pakistan’s army chief on board during Modi’s impromptu visit to Lahore ?Most likely ,yes. It is almost unimaginable that he was not in the decision making loop.After the Ufa debacle, Nawaz Sharif would certainly not have wanted to appear to be alone in wanting to talk. However,this does not mean that the army chief approves of the larger game plan of improving ties with India ,especially an enemy who , according to the post -Raheel Sharif popular narrative, is responsible for most acts of violence in Pakistan. It seems thatwhile Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is very keen to have peace and like a timed chicken takes his neck out every now and then,army remains more cautious .It is not that the army is not interested in talk ,but it is not keen to have talkbetween civilians or to allow personal camaraderie to develop between the two prime ministers .Although Pakistan’s military involvement in Pathankot attack is not proven , whoever planned the show was aware of the GHQ-Rawalpindi ‘s unhappiness with how the December 25 Modi visit played out in Pakistan -the two leaders seemed to be building personal ties without the army being centre stage.
After the pathankot attack Modi has asked his counterpart Nawaz Sharif that without action by Pakistan against those responsible for the attack, it will not go ahead with foreign secretary talks of the two countries, Mr. sharif then setup a committee of his top army and government officials to investigateIndia’s allegations for which India has provided the evidences such as telephone calls and the numbers of the handlers in Pakistan consequently some accomplices of JeS have been taken into custody and chief of Jes Massod Azar master mind of the pathankot attack is untraced and is said hiding somewhere in Afghanistan as per Pakistan PM’s office reports. The investigation team is further asking the Indian authorities to provide them more evidences as the already supplied are not appropriate, the phone numbers are unregistered. Here again the intentions of Pakistan are not clear and does not want to co-oporate with India in punishing the perpetrators of violence. It is very interesting to note that though Pakistan PM is ever keen to co-oporate with india in bringing the pathankot attack culprits to book yet his army and ISI agency seem to act in a different way.
Bearing in mind all these realities India must stay the course after the attack as there is no other alternative to talks. It is the meeting between the DGMOs of the two countries that today though temporarily, the border is silent and the gun has been quieted. The border people are living a peaceful life and there is no loss of the life and property. Meetings on the Bangkok pattern preferably behind the scenes and devoid of publicity are required if we are to reach an agreement how to deal concerns on terrorism. Similar meetings between the heads of intelligence agencies (ISI and RAW) should reinforce these meetings. Moreover it is important that a mechanism for regular meetings between the DGOMs should be put in place before the winter snow melts and infiltration picks up in the Kashmir valley. Dialogue has to be accompanied by the full spectrum use of non-conventional capabilities by India , as long as the ISI continues its policies aimed to “bleed India with a thousand cuts.”
Ihappened to watch out a TV interview of Shri Shri Ravi Shankar founder of ‘Art of Living’ said that with the help of his preaching’s he had transformed the lives of many terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is of the firm belief that it is only the spirituality that can bring about unity in diversity irrespective of the caste, creed, colour, country and even religion. India is well known for its tolerance. We have to try our utmost to bring round Pakistan to our belief of co-existence and peaceful living, shunning, violence in any manifestations. If every way of mending fences with Pakistan fails , the last resort is ‘Dand” i.e. punishment making the use of strength. But that is to be avoided as far as we can afford. it has been well said by the poet Dr. Iqbal (poet of East)
” Unania misra roma mit gay sab jahan say, ab tak hai magar baki namo nishan hamara”
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