Pak-India
Tension: Diplomatic Victory of Pakistan by Sajjad Shaukat (JR 143
SS 30)
This week, tension
escalated rapidly between India and Pakistan when on February 27, this year, in
response to the Indian so-called pre-emptive air strike near the town of Balakot, close to the border with Pakistan’s sector of
Kashmir, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian Air Force (IAF)
fighter jets and launched aerial strikes at six targets in the Indian Occupied
Kashmir (IoK).
Addressing a
press conference on the same day, Director General of Pakistan Army’s media wing, the Inter-Services
Public Relations (ISPR), Maj-Gen. Asif Ghafoor said that Pakistan Air
Force have conducted aerial strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) from
Pakistani airspace and shot down two Indian aircraft. One of the two Indian air force pilots was taken
into custody.
Regarding Indian surgical strike, Maj-Gen. Asif Ghafoor
elaborated: “There are only mud-brick homes. There is no madrassas.
There isn’t even a concrete house…Two of the dried mud structures were damaged
in the explosions…No one has been killed, no one has been seriously hurt…Indian
planes crossed into the Muzafarabad sector of Pakistani-side of Kashmir…Pakistan
scrambled its warplanes and the Indian jets released their payload in haste
near Balakot.”
Afterwards, journalists visited the targeted site of
Balakot and Islamabad also released a video which exposed the false statements
of New Delhi that IAF fighters targeted the camp of
Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and killed 350 militants.
But, during the press briefing on February 26, India
Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale called the strikes on
Pakistani soil “non-military preemptive action”. He refused to answer questions by the media, as he could not show any proof
in this respect.
Following the false flag Pulwama terror attack in the Indian Held
Kashmir (IHK), which killed 44 Indian soldiers—Islamist
militant group JeM claimed responsibility soon for the car suicide attack, New
Delhi provoked Islamabad through the so-called surgical strike.
Without any
investigation and evidence Indian high officials and media started accusing
Islamabad, saying that the attackers had come from Pakistan to stage the
assault.
The Indian
foreign ministry allegedly said in a statement, “We demand that Pakistan stop
supporting terrorists and terror groups operating from their territory and
dismantle the infrastructure operated by terrorist outfits to launch attacks in
other countries.”
On
the other side, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson stated: “We have always
condemned acts of violence anywhere in the world…We strongly reject any
insinuation by elements in the Indian media and government that seek to link
the attack to Pakistan without investigations.” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister
Shah Mahmood Quereshi also rejected Indian false allegations regarding Pulwama
attack.
Speaking to the
Indian media, former Chief Minister of the Indian Held Kashmir Farooq Abdullah
said: “I was saddened to hear about the deaths of the soldiers…This is not
something happening for the first time. These incidents happen everyday
there…India should talk with Kashmiris, because using the force of guns and
army is not the solution…Don’t blame Pakistan because local people are joining
Kashmiri fight” [War of liberation].
Meanwhile, on
February 21, 2019, India was humiliated at the diplomatic level when Pakistan’s
name was not mentioned in the declaration by the UN Security Council condemning
Pulwama attack. New Delhi tried everything possible to involve Pakistan’s name
in the statement and tried to use American influence as well. Multiple
countries were briefed in New Delhi regarding the attack.
However, various
contradictory developments and reports proved that Pulwama terror attack was a
false flag operation, conducted by New Delhi to malign Islamabad in order to
obtain various designs.
In
this regard, quoting the report of the daily Kashmir Times of September 10,
2017, Pakistan’s media and even some leading newspapers of India revealed that
the Indian drama was exposed after the disclosure that the alleged suicide
attacker of the Pulwama attack Adil Ahmed Dar was already in the custody of the
Indian army.
“The Indian army had arrested Adil Ahmed Dar
during an operation in Shopian on September 10, 2017…It is a big question that
how he carried out the suicide attack when he was already in the custody of
Indian army.”
Blindly alleging
Pakistan, some Indian newspapers, especially India Today wrote: “Intelligence
agencies in Jammu and Kashmir believe Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed
commander-Ghazi Abdul Rasheed-is the mastermind behind the gruesome Pulwama
terror attack that rocked the nation on February 14. He is one of the closest
aides of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azha.”
It is notable
that religious cleric Abdul Rasheed Ghazi was
killed in 2007 during the Lal Masjid operation in Islamabad, launched by the
then President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Nevertheless,
taking cognizance of Indian blame game and war-like posture, Pakistan’s Prime
Minister Imran Khan said on February 19, this year, that Pakistan will take
action, if New Delhi shares any actionable evidence, concerning the suicide
bombing in the occupied Kashmir’s Pulwama area, which targeted Indian
paramilitary soldiers. Offering cooperation and another chance at a dialogue
over the Kashmir issue, the premier had also warned India against any act of
aggression, saying Pakistan would not hesitate in retaliating to a provocation.
But, by creating
jingoism in India, Indian extremist government of the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) rejected any cooperation with Islamabad and has continued threatening
diplomacy against Pakistan.
In a televised
address on February 27, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that his country is
ready to cooperate with New Delhi into the investigation of the February 14
suicide bombing, claimed by Pakistan-based armed group, JeM which was banned by
the government. He called for talks with India and hoped better sense would
prevail so that both sides could de-escalate. Khan pointed out: “History tells
us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that given the weapons
[Nuclear] we have can we afford miscalculation.”
India has also
handed over its files on the February 14 bombing to Islamabad. Prime Minister
Khan on February 28 stated in the joint session of the parliament, “Today
they [India] have sent a dossier on Pulwama…They should have given us the
dossier first, and if we had not taken action, then they could have taken
action.”
In his address,
Khan reiterated his call for de-escalation. He explained, “I am saying to
India: do not take it further than this. Because whatever you do, Pakistan will
be forced to retaliate. And then two countries who have the weapons that the
two of us, we should never even think of such a thing.”
Prime Minister
Khan also announced the release of Indian captured pilot Wing Commander
Abhinandan Varthaman who was attacked by a mob and then saved by
Pakistan’s army. He was released on March 1 and handed over to the Indian
authorities.
In this context,
Khan remarked: “We have an Indian pilot. As a peace gesture we will release him”.
Khan also
stated, “I tried to call Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi…I wanted to make it clear that we do not want any kind of
escalation”. But, Modi did not attend his telephone call.
It is of
particular attention that in a rare joint press conference by the top brass of
the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force on February 28, the top military officers
also presented evidence that Pakistan had AMRAAM missiles mounted on its
American-made F-16 fighter jets to target Indian military installations.
Concealing
ground realities, the press briefing by the Indian military’s high officials
appeared to be an apology of the highest order, clueless and confused. They had
no answers to the questions of the journalists and even no proof of claimed
damage in Balakot strike was presented. They could not provide any evidence of
JeM camp and killing of 350 terrorists. The air force officer said that he
cannot comment on it and left it to the civil government. Similarly, no
evidence of Pakistani F-16 which they claimed was shot down could be presented
in the briefing. While, they confirmed aerial strikes of Pakistan on the Indian
Controlled Kashmir by displaying fragments from
a missile they claimed matched the Pakistani F-16 fighter jet that purportedly
crossed into Indian airspace and was shot down.
Pakistan was
quick to claim that it did not use F-16s in the attack and that it had lost no
aircraft. However, one of the pictures released by Pakistan showed wreckage of
the MiG-21 fighter.
It is
worth-mentioning that ISPR said in a statement on February 28, “Pakistan’s
armed forces are on high alert along the Line of Control [LoC] and are prepared
to deal with any Indian aggression…During the last 48 hours, Indian troops have
resorted to increased ceasefire violations in Kotli, Khuiratta and Tatta Pani
sectors along LoC…India’s deliberate firing on civilians resulted in the
martyrdom of four citizens…Pakistan Army troops responded effectively to the
violations and there were reports of casualties to Indian forces and damage to
Indian posts”.
Some of
Pakistan’s airports have been closed to commercial flights. The operation
of a bi-weekly cross-border train service between India’s capital New
Delhi and Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore has been temporarily suspended due
to the prevailing tensions between the two countries.
Nonetheless,
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan’s move to release the Indian captured
pilot was described as a diplomatic victory of Pakistan over India. Many Indian
politicians, journalists and renowned persons, including Kashmiri leaders and
artists appreciated Khan’s optimistic decision as a peace gesture.
On the other
side, India’s 21 opposition parties and famous figures, chief ministers of
Delhi, Bengal, puppet chief minister of IoK, civil society groups and artists
criticised Modi for continuing his scheduled public events, including an
election rally, while staying mum amid a major military stand-off with
Pakistan. Nevertheless, it shows Indian diplomatic defeat.
It is
mentionable that many Western countries such as US, UK, France, Germany and
Russia, including China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have expressed concern at the
current situation, urging New Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint and
de-escalation.
Particularly, Mike
Pompeo, US secretary of state stated that he has spoken with the leaders of
India and Pakistan and has urged them to avoid “any action that would escalate
and greatly increase risk”.
On February 28,
this year, US President Donald Trump has hoped that Pak-India tension will
de-escalate soon—the United States has been mediating between the two sides and
trying to have them stop.
Earlier,
President Trump said on February 22, 2019, “Right now between Pakistan and
India, there is a very dangerous situation. We would like to see it
[hostilities] stop. We are very much involved in that [process].” Unlike his
previous blame game of cross-border terrorism against Pakistan in relation to
Afghanistan, Trump also admitted that Washington has improved her relations
with Islamabad shortly.
Especially,
Russia and some Arab countries, including Turkey and the United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over tensions between
Pakistan and India, and have offered their mediatory roles between both the
nuclear countries for de-escalation.
Besides, the
organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on February 26, condemned India’s
incursion against Pakistan, urging the two countries to exercise restraint and
avoid any steps that could endanger peace and security in the region. On the
same day, in an emergency meeting, the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir
expressed grave concern at the rising tensions in South Asia and strongly
condemned the recent wave of repression, killing of innocent civilians, and
frequent incidents of rape perpetrated by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir.
Notably,
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told the joint session of
parliament on March 1 that he would not attend the meeting of the Council of
Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the OIC in Abu Dhabi
(Held in Abu Dhabi on March 1-2, 2019) over the presence of India’s
minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj, adding that lower ranking officials
would attend to represent Pakistan’s interests. In fact, India was invited to
participate in the conference on February 23, 2019 before the surgical strike
and response of Islamabad in this connection. Indian media exaggerated the
participation of Swaraj as a diplomatic triumph of New Delhi over Islamabad. But,
India was frustrated, when concluding the CFM conference, a resolution was passed, which
condemned the Indian state terrorism in occupied Kashmir and reaffirmed its
unwavering support for the Kashmiri people. It reiterated that Jammu and
Kashmir remained the core dispute between Pakistan and India. The resolution also reminded the international
community of its obligation to ensure implementation of UN Security Council
resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. The OIC member states adopted
another resolution which expressed grave concern over the Indian violation of
Pakistani airspace; affirmed Pakistan’s right to self-defence; and urged India
to refrain from the threat or use of force. The resolution on regional peace
and security in South Asia also welcomed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s renewed
offer of dialogue to India and the goodwill gesture of handing over the Indian
pilot. However, it also proved Pakistan’s diplomatic victory over India.
It is also of
particular attention that Indian Prime Minister Modi’s extremist party- BJP had
got a land sliding triumph in the Indian elections 2014 on the basis of
anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan slogans. Therefore, since the Prime Minister Modi
came to power, he has been implementing anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan agenda
with the support of fanatic coalition outfits.
Now, double game
has become the BJP strategy to win the Indian general elections 2019. In this
respect, BJP leadership seems to have geared up its activity for forthcoming
poll-2019.
In the aftermath
of the false flag Pulwama terror assault, New Delhi also launched a diplomatic
offensive to isolate Pakistan in the international community. But, India
herself was isolated, as world’s major countries held India responsible for
heightening the tension with Pakistan through surgical strike. Besides, Kashmir
issue has been internationalized to a greater extent, as Indian security forces
have accelerated state terrorism on the innocent Kashmiris who are waging war
of liberation and are demanding their right of self-determination, recognized
by the related UNO resolutions.
In fact, without
bothering for nuclear war, in the aftermath of the terror attack in Pulwama,
India is deliberately increasing war hysteria against Pakistan.
It is noteworthy
after the World War 11; nuclear weapons were never used, and were only employed
as a strategic threat. During the heightened days of the Cold War, many crises
arose in Suez Canal, Korea, Cuba and Vietnam when the US and the former Soviet
Union were willing to use atomic weapons, but they stopped because of the fear
of nuclear war which could eliminate both the super powers. Hence, the two
rivals preferred to resolve their differences through diplomacy.
In
the past too, Indian rulers had intended to implement their doctrine of limited
war in Kashmir or to fight a conventional war with Pakistan, but they could not
do so owing to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.
Unlike
the former Soviet Union and the USA, war-like situation exists between New
Delhi and Islamabad due to the perennial firing by the Indian forces across the
Line of Control and the Working Boundary in wake of the unresolved issue of
Kashmir which remains a nuclear flashpoint. And both the neighbouring countries
have waged three wars on this dispute.
In the present circumstances,
BJP-led fanatic government of Modi is badly mistaken, if it overestimates
India’s power and underestimates Pakistan’s power. In this case, a prolonged
conflict with conventional weapons could result into atomic war between the two
countries.
Taking note of the Indian war-like posture, Prime Minister Imran Khan on
February 27, chaired a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) to
discuss a response to India’s Line of Control violation. The meeting was
attended by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Chiefs of all
three services. The NCA is the apex civilian-led command headed by the prime
minister to oversee the policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and
development, employment and operational command and control of the country’s
nuclear arsenals.
Unlike India,
Pakistan’s ruling party, opposition parties, members of civil societies and
military are on one page regarding Indian aggression.
In this
connection, on March 1, the joint sitting of the Pakistan’s parliament in
demonstration of unity against any external aggression, passed a unanimous
resolution strongly condemning the blatant Indian aggression of 26th and 27th
of February against the country and the parliamentary leaders said that they
are standing shoulder to shoulder to the armed forces of Pakistan. The
resolution completely rejected India’s self-serving and fictitious claims of
having destroyed alleged terrorist facility—pointed out that facts on the
grounds clearly contradict India’s false claim and so have been testified by
independent observers. The resolution noted that timely and effective action of
the Pakistan Air Force repulsed the Indian attack without loss of life and
property—India’s baseless allegations against
Pakistan in the wake of Pulwama attack were politically—the Indian government’s
subsequent action has been guided by its electoral calculations. Strongly
condemning the Indian atrocities in the IHK, the resolution rejected the
India’s attempt to project the legitimate Kashmiri struggle for self-determination
as terrorism. It reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally
recognised dispute, pending on the agenda of the UN Security Council due to
Indian intransigence. It underscored that a just and peaceful solution of
Kashmir dispute. The resolution mentioned Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call to
avoid further escalation and urged the parliament of India to support the call
by this joint session of Pakistani parliament for de-escalation and dialogue
between Pakistan and India.
Undoubtedly, we
can conclude that peaceful strategy of Prime Minister Imran Khan and belligerent
policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have
culminated into diplomatic victory of Pakistan
over India.
Sajjad Shaukat
writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic
Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International
Relations
Email:
sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
