INDIA SERVES IT RIGHT AND TIGHT TO PAKISTAN

India has dished out to Pakistan what it had been asking for years. Pakistan had been testing India’s patience by carrying out dastardly attacks through its band of home-grown terrorists in Kashmir and other parts of the country. But for how long? It had to happen. India needed to give a strong reply to Pakistan to stop it in its tracks. For how long could Pakistan expect India to sit quiet as it went about continuing with its state policy of terror? A loud and clear message has been delivered to Pakistan that India will not hesitate in going inside the Pakistani territory to hunt out terrorists and their camps.

Here are the key takeaways from today’s aerial attacks.

METICULOUS PLANNING: The air attack was well-timed and carefully planned. It is not easy to carry out aerial attacks during the hours of darkness when operations get hampered due to lower visibility. But Indian Air Force chose 3.30 a.m. local time to exploit the advantages to maximum effect when its Mirage 2000 fighter jets dropped bombs on terrorist camps in Pakistan-controlled territory catching the enemy country unawares. In less than 30 minutes, 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets completed the job with precision by eliminating terror camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which had taken the responsibility for the Pulwama suicide attack in which at least 40 CRPF personnel were martyred. Though exact figures are not readily available, a large number of militants and their leaders and handlers (some reports put the figure between 200 and 300) were killed.

Pix courtesy: YouTube

PAKISTAN CAUGHT NAPPING: Pakistan least expected India to cross the Line of Control and conduct airstrikes inside its territory. Pakistan knew of impending response from India in the wake of the outrage following the Pulwama terror attack. Expecting India to carry out another surgical attack following the Uri attack last year, it had moved away several terror launch pads and training facilities from the line of control dividing Kashmir. But the least it had expected that India will dare to launch air strikes on its soil. This is the first time India has resorted to aerial bombing over the disputed border since the 1971 war. Indian warplanes had not crossed the Line of Control even during the brief Kargil conflict in 1999.

ZERO TOLERANCE TOWARDS TERRORISM: A hard and decisive message has been delivered to Pakistan that India will not hesitate in taking punitive measures if the former continued with its malicious designs. India had earlier indicated a change of its approach when it carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan occupied Kashmir inflicting heavy casualties on terrorists 10 days after the Uri attack in which 18 Indian soldiers were killed. At least 38 terrorists, including their guides and handlers, were killed in that operation. And today’s pre-dawn attack resulted in the elimination of close to 200-300 terrorists. With Pakistan disregarding all calls from India and the world leaders to close terror camps operating from its soil and prevent infiltration of terrorists into Kashmir, such a reply was long overdue.

PREPARED FOR ESCALATION: Today’s aerial attacks also convey Indian leadership’s readiness for an all-out confrontation if Pakistan chooses to escalate the situation. Thus far, New Delhi had been held hostage to Islamabad’s manipulation and threat of use of nuclear weapons if India dared any limited strikes on Pakistan. It resisted the military response, despite the massive outcry back home, for fear of escalation of hostilities. But New Delhi has decided to bite the bullet by extracting revenge on both the occasions. This marks a tectonic shift from India’s earlier stand when it used to share information of terror attacks with Pakistan in the hope that the latter will live up to its promise and take any concrete action against the terrorist groups operating from its soil.

MESSAGE TO WORLD: With the world leaders balking at India’s repeated requests for concerted and timely action against terrorism, New Delhi has decided to walk the talk. Frustrated by failure of the world leaders to address the issue of terrorism and offering only lip service, India has also sent out a strong signal to the global community that enough is enough and it reserves the right to self-defence against cross-border terrorism. India is unlikely to face any resistance given the global community’s strong condemnation of the Pulwama terror attacks and support to New Delhi.  In fact, the US national security advisor John Bolton had gone on to say that Washington supported India's right to 'self-defence' from 'cross-border terrorism'.

PAKISTAN’S OPTIONS: Pakistan does not have too many options right now. Can it afford to go for an all-out war against India? Seems unlikely. If it does, it will be accused of initiating the war as India chose to target only terror camps and not any civilian or military installations. Moreover, leave aside the support of China and a few Islamic countries, Pakistan today finds itself in isolation. The world opinion is heavily tilted in India’s favour. Pakistan has no option but to swallow the humiliation by terming the attacks as fictitious. At best, it can do what it is best at, by sending mercenaries to India to carry out terror attacks.

WHAT DOES IT AUGUR? There is no doubt that India’s military action has upped the ante and the world is concerned about the escalation of hostilities. The Indo-Pakistan relations have taken a severe hit and there does not seem a ray of hope of any betterment in the situation in the very near future. Any miscalculation by either of the two countries can bring them to the brink of a full-fledged war which does not augur well. Both the countries will do well to practice restraint and bide time to give peace another chance. But it is easier said than done.

PAKISTAN DESERVES NO MERCY

pix courtesy: OneIndia

It’s now or never! The terror-happy Pakistan has been repeatedly testing patience of India by orchestrating such heinous massacres. But this time, it has crossed all its limits. It just can’t be allowed to go scot free. February 14, 2019 will go down in the history of India as the worst black day when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy of 70 vehicles in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir killing at least 44 CRPF personnel and injuring several others.  It is high time India realises that it is alone in its fight against terrorism and should expect no support from the world body which has been a silent spectator to the macabre of dance being played in Kashmir and elsewhere in the country for several decades now.

The world has disappointed India every time by looking the other way whenever Pakistan was found complicit in the terror activities perpetrated against the innocent people. Be it the 1993 bombings in Mumbai when 257 people were killed, or the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai when 174 people died, or the Indian Parliament attack, or the 2001 Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly car bombing, or the 2016 Uri attack. And now, the Pulwama incident! The list is endless.  Over the years, thousands of innocent people have fallen prey to acts of terrorism with no fault of theirs. What has been the response of the global community? Other than offering condolences and issuing statements of support for India, the global community has been found wanting in the fight against terrorism.

The then US President George Bush had famously said “Either you are with us or you are with terrorists” when his country came under the worst terror attacks on September 11, 2001 when close to 3,000 people were killed in a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda. Are the lives of US citizens more important than the Indians? Today, India should also ask the same question to the civilized countries where do they stand as far as the war against terrorism is concerned. It should by now be ample clear to India that it has to wage its own battle against terrorism. The so-called global war against terrorism is just a hollow statement and far away from reality. India should take all necessary steps – covert or otherwise – to protect its innocent people and its territorial integrity.

We just can’t afford to live in grief whenever such dastardly act is committed against us. Today there is anger, anger among people, anger among the armed forces. This is an open declaration of hostility by Pakistan. This anger should be directed towards finding a resolute solution to the problem, once and for all. India has taken too long to withdraw the most favoured nation status to Pakistan, which it should have done long ago. While the global community has failed India, New Delhi should work with like-minded countries to ensure that Pakistan is boycotted politically as well as economically. There is an urgent need to isolate Pakistan from the multilateral fora where it is a member. India should use all diplomatic means to ensure that the friendly countries sever their ties with Pakistan.

India has, in the past, made several attempts to buy peace with Pakistan by holding talks with it and its proxy – the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).  It should be made crystal clear to both Pakistan and the Hurriyat that they don’t deserve talks. The political parties, especially the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) which has soft corner for terrorists, should be shunned completely. There is no room for such parties in a civilized set-up. 

The Hurriyat should be made very clear that it has no role in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem as it does not represent the masses of Kashmir. Moreover, their leaders should be divested of security. They have had enough. If their hearts bleed for Pakistan, they should be told to leave Kashmir immediately and settle down in a country from where they get all the moral and financial support. No civilised nation can allow anybody to carry out anti-national activities from its soil and Hurriyat is no exception. There is difference between dissent and sedition. Hurriyat leaders and all those who subscribe to their ideas are anti-nationals and should be charged with sedition.

Security forces should be given a free hand to smoke out each and every militant from Kashmir. They should first scout the South Kashmir, the hotbed of militancy, which ironically is the constituency of PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti. This is the breeding ground for local militants. Half the battle will be won once South Kashmir is cleared of militants. About one-third of 200-odd local militants and their accomplices are active in this part. In recent years, there has been alarming increase in the number of youths from this region joining militancy.

There is no doubt that India has been put on notice, and it has all the rights to take every resource at its command to protect its people. From now onwards, India should channelize all its resources – diplomatic or otherwise – to defeat the terror network from the country.  This act of terror can’t be left to go unpunished.