Shiban Khaibri
Treachery and falsehood are manifest in Pakistan’s attitude towards India ever since its birth from out of this country. Bleeding India through one thousand cuts and fighting a war for equal number of years were their policy slogans of yesteryears against this country. They continue with it till now even through non entities and fresh entrants into the politics of sorts in Pakistan like Bilawal Bhutoo. Attempting to speak big from a feeble sound box “Kashmir”, Kashmir”, he struggles to emerge relevant and make his existence felt. He knows that the easiest way, the short cut method to make one’s presence felt in political environs of Pakistan is how strong a rhetoric one indulges in on Kashmir. No wonder, whether at home or at international fora, Pakistani political leaders are found busy in ranting, “Kashmir as jugular vein of Pakistan”. Sorry for Bilawal’s chanting of “taking back all of Kashmir”, seems next to impossible perhaps, and unless good sense ever visits future Pakistani leadership, Bilawal’s future generations too shall be parroting ,”Kashmir”.
The fact is that since its formation, Pakistan has done nothing or shown no evidence of reasonable neighbourliness, let alone good, dependable and friendliest relations towards India but has heaped on this country, hostilities and treacherous attacks laced with hate and falsehood. On the other hand, India has always shown exemplary gestures of friendship, amity and co-operation with that country irrespective of which Indian Political Party is in power in New Delhi. That has, however, never been reciprocated in the least possible manner positively by that country. Instead, it has made hundreds of thousands of Indians turn into refugees and migrants in our own country right from 1947 while in her own country, producing terrorists to push them into this country to wage a proxy war. In other words, making refugees and migrants outside Pakistan and manufacturing terror in Pakistan to keep the vicious circle moving has been the avowed state policy of Pakistan. What fault had our border villagers right from Kathua sector to Akhnoor in Jammu division done to flee from their hearths and homes to suffer to become migrants by moving into safer zones nearby, taking refuge in Government buildings, schools and even in open, in camps etc because of becoming direct victims of intense unprovoked and unwarranted firing and shelling from Pakistan.? The number of these victim migrants has swelled to 32000 till the writing of these lines. As many as 150 border villages on the 198 Km long IB have become direct targets of the Pakistani aggression. Civilized nations know and practice that targeting innocent, unarmed and unsuspecting civilians and causing them grievous injuries and deaths by any country’s armed forces is strictly prohibited, as per the covenants of the Ganeva convention. It has been recognized as a genocidal act. Take the case of Arnia sector, it has been shelled and fired upon in proportions never witnessed in decades. International border is hardly less than 3 to 4 Kms away from Arnia having been targets of Pakistani shelling. It is a matter of concern that all the 70 border outposts have been regularly all these seven days been fired upon, causing loss of 18 lives besides injuring several others. Targeting civilians, children, young, old, men and women for no apparent cause or reason, Pakistan has thus been indulging in this unacceptable adventure of aggression which in the words of the Union Defence Minister, it shall have to pay for it. Such an adventurism shall prove unaffordable for it, is the message gone to that country in words and by action. Repeatedly messages have been going to that country that “times have changed (in India) and their old habits will not be tolerated.” The Prime Minister said that “people know my intentions and I need not express those in words.” The BSF consequently has acted in good response and Pakistan, as per reports, has received back in the same coin. It has now to stop violating the provisions of the 2003 cease fire agreement.
Does it not look beyond comprehension that Pakistan having got no response from any country to “Kashmir parroting” by its PM Nawaz Sharif in the UN General Assembly last month and Narendra Modi in his speech, having totally ignored even the mention of Kashmir excepting, “We are busy fighting floods in Kashmir” , Pakistan should go in this way to attract world attention to keep the Kashmir issue boiling and internationalized? In Simla Agreement, bilateral issues “including Kashmir” cannot be internationalized which has been agreed upon by both the countries. Facing the heat of the retaliatory action from the Indian side, Pakistan is crying victimhood and working for face saver. It has now called upon the international bodies to intervene and at the outset, has asked United Nations Military Observers’ Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to intervene and prepare “a report on the damages caused “. We, as a sovereign country have all along been not accepting any type of intervention or meddling by any International Body or any country. In fact, the redundancy of the continuance of the presence of UNMOGIP has been made known to all by India and recently has been urged to pack up and vacate the Government bungalow housing its office in the capital and leave India. India, under the present PM has conveyed to the world body that after the signing of the historic Simla Agreement, the role of the UNMOGIP has become redundant and therefore has “no relevance or role to play whatsoever”.
The history, though very short, of Pakistan has been that its “elected Prime Ministers” have been controlled rather than they being controlling. The whims and diktats of the army, the ISI, the clergy, the fundamentalist and extreme groups rule the roost there and meddle in political affairs and thus control the PM. The other side of the picture there being that intrigues, coup d’états, exiles, murders, hangings, overthrows, and the like have been the fate of the polity and the political leaders. The huge upheaval even to the extent of mass civil disobedience, if not complete overthrowing the Nawaz Sharif Government recently at the behest of the duo of Dr. Tahirul Qaidri and Imran Khan, has rattled the convalescing of the fragile Pakistani democratic set up. With great difficulty, the Nawaz Sharif Government survived for the time being. Stability and brevity of proper governance, thus, in that country are far from reality. Those, who repeatedly plead for “talks and CBMs” with Pakistan must bear in mind this stark fact of politics of Pakistan and that is why any agreement entered into between the two countries does not work as in the case of such an important agreement like the Simla Agreement.
Perhaps with the ongoing misdemeanor of Pakistan, the aim could also be to “test Narendra Modi’s Government from the earlier ones especially UPA 1 and 2. They have seen it now fully that it is not that, India does not want very good friendly relations with Pakistan to live like good neighbours, sharing fruits of mutual trade, commerce and cultural relations but India is definitely changed for more better in asserting its position in defending the honour and dignity of the country and the countrymen. Previously, cease fires used to take place after flag meetings and diplomatic gestures and peace initiatives but this time, it is the other way round. First stop and silence your guns and behave, then any talks or flag meetings—- is the message in clear and unequivocal terms made known to Pakistan by this government. Long ranging talks, fruitful talks with Pakistan are possible only when the shadow of terror or series of threatening do not accompany the talks. And some Political Parties for undervalued expediency try to politicize even the current hostilities by Pakistan on J&K border should introspect to see the reason and support Government to defend each and every inch of our territory and each citizen of our country.
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