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.