The
India-Pakistan Imbroglio – Surgical Strike
It like two brothers fighting for a piece of
land born out of the same womb. Divided into countries due to the vested
interests of the leaders of the bygone. If it is international than it is at
home too. Are we aware? It is in our sub consciousness.
Indian army carried out, “surgical strike “on
Thursday on 29th Sep. The surgical strike was meant to eliminate the
terrorist camps along the de-facto border with Pakistan in Kashmir. Surgical
strike is a pre-emptive attack on a specific target with an aim to neutralize
the enemy with minimum collateral damage. Pakistan denied the claim and replied
it as a cross border firing. Prime Minister Mr. Modi announced earlier that the
attack at the Uri army base, in which 18 soldiers had died, will not go
unpunished. The Uri attack came at a time of
deep crisis in India-Pakistan relations. India is still smarting from an
earlier attack on a military base in India, in the town of Pathankot in Punjab
state in January, which it also blamed on JeM-a group with close ties to
Pakistani intelligence. The two countries have fought three major wars, but
they all occurred before 1998, when both nations became declared nuclear
weapons states. Pakistanis already accuse India of waging covert war in
Pakistan, from colluding with the Pakistani Taliban to collaborating with
Baloch separatists. A wave of attacks on Pakistani troops or an assassination
campaign against terrorists—regardless of whether there is clear evidence of
Indian complicity—could lead to Pakistan-sponsored terror attacks in India. The
territorial dispute between the two countries has been running for over six
decades, and two out of the three wars fought between the nuclear-armed rivals
have been over Kashmir.
The UN has urged both countries to exercise
restraint. Stephane Dujarric, UN spokesman said, “The UN Military Observer
Group for India and Pakistan, UNMOGIP, is aware of the ceasefire violations and
right now is liaising with the concerned authorities to obtain further
information. The United Nations calls on the government of India and Pakistan
to exercise restraint and encourage them to continue their efforts to resolve
their differences peacefully and through dialogue."
There are lot of speculations over the water
disputes between the neighbouring states. The water dispute between India and
Pakistan is serious not only because of water, but also due to the political
rivalry between the two countries. The IWT (Indus Water Treaty) is a
56-year-old accord that governs how India and Pakistan manage the vast Indus
River Basin's rivers and tributaries. On Sept 26, Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi told top officials present at the treaty review meeting that
"blood and water cannot flow together." If India were to annul
the IWT, the consequences might well be humanitarian devastation in what is
already one of the world's most water-starved countries - an outcome far more
harmful and far-reaching than the effects of limited war. One of the main reasons the agreement was
signed because India is the source of all the rivers of the Indus basin,
although Indus and Sutlej originate in China. The rivers enabled India to use
them for irrigation, transport and power generation. Pakistan also needed the
water and feared that India could eventually create a drought situation in
Pakistan in case a war breaks out between the two countries. Under the treaty, the waters of the three
eastern rivers — Beas, Ravi and Sutlej — were granted to be used by India
without restriction, while 80% of the three western rivers — Indus, Chenab and
Jhelum were allocated to Pakistan. The
Treaty of Indus remained intact even after three wars between India and
Pakistan in 1962, 1971 and 1999. Revoking the treaty will add a new colour
to the Kashmir solution and sensitise the circumstances.
India and Pakistan both are suffering because
of the vested interest of their respective leaders. They don’t want to resolve
the issue. Kashmir is one the biggest issues in Indian Pakistan history. There
are four aspect of this issue. One Indian controlled Jammu and Kashmir, Second nobody
talks about China occupied Kashmir and third is Azad Kashmir who don't want to
live with Pakistani's and fourth is Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. If you directly want to jump to solution you
will not be able to understand the real issue of Kashmir. There were several
solutions proposed by both side India and Pakistan but most of the problem is
regulation and trust with each others. From India point of view we already
loose trust with Pakistan because of several border infiltration and militant
attack not only in Jammu and
Kashmir but also in Punjab.
Since last 70 years, India and Pakistan have
been unable to resolve their differences and develop a normal good neighbourly
relationship, which could have benefitted people on both sides of the border.
Several measures have been taken for a peaceful living. Both are standing still. Does it mean that
the two countries are cursed to live in perpetual hostility? Can they overcome
their historic rivalry and emulate the example of France and Germany after the
World War II? The tensions between India and Pakistan are deeply rooted in
their common history. Their failure to reconcile their differences ultimately
resulted in the partition of the Sub-continent.
Soon after the partition in 1947 of the
sub-continent into the two nations, about 17 million people fled their homes
and journeyed to either Pakistan or India. In one of the largest exchanges of
populations in history, violence soon broke out with Muslims on one side and
Sikhs and Hindus on the other. The resulting bloodshed in the Punjab and West
Bengal regions left more than one million people dead in its wake. In the midst
of this refugee movement and open violence, the governments of India and
Pakistan hastily tried to divide the assets of British India between the two
new countries. From weapons and money, down to paper clips and archaeological treasures
all had to be divided.
Not only did the architects of Indian foreign
policy fear Pakistan, but in 1962, after China's sudden invasion of northeast
India, they suddenly realized the ancient protection of the Himalayan Mountains
had vanished. Soon after the China war of 1962, Indian scientists began
developing its nuclear capability. Under Indira Gandhi's Prime Ministership in
1974, India successfully exploded a nuclear device, announcing to the world its
scientific capacity to develop nuclear bombs. China is the premier military power in Asia and considers
Pakistan its oldest and most powerful Asian ally. China continues to occupy
areas inside of India's borders as a result of the Indo-China war of 1962.
China has nuclear-armed missiles positioned against India along the Himalayan border
and in Tibet, in addition to being Pakistan’s main military weapons provider.
Russia has had close relations with India since Indira Gandhi became prime
minister in 1966. Russia provides most of India's military sales. After the
demise of the Soviet Empire, Russia is unable to provide economic or military
aid to India.
There is an erroneous thinking that has gone
on for a very long time in India. Pakistan has used “non state actors” for
as long as its existence to further its “doctrine”. It started in 1947
when it sent tribal force into Kashmir to seize control illegally and has
used it ever since in its pursuit to get even with India. Soon after
independence, Pakistan started its pursuit to project itself as the fort
of Islam when it invaded Kashmir, a princely state which acceded to India
based on the terms of independence of India, because it had Muslim
majority population. It is often projected that Pakistan started using
terrorists against India from late 1980s but the fact is that it was right
after independence that Pakistan sent tribal force into Kashmir to snatch
control. Pakistan will not desist from anti India activities even if it is
given Kashmir on a platter by India as it is in an ideological battle with
India.
Indo-Pak has the same historical-cum-cultural
patterns, the “Indian cultural” pattern that has developed in a context ranging
for more than a thousand years. There are great stories of peaceful coexistence
and harmony during this vast historical span. The same can be revived today in
this evolved context. Regardless of our differences, we are all human beings who are also entitled
to a just and dignified life, a promise of the state. It is time to find
effective solutions to strengthening Indo-Pak relationships. It is time to end
our indifferences and forge a ‘United We Stand’ conversation about our mutual
development and unity.
By – Siddhartha Shankar Mishra
( Author is a Lawyer and a Writer )
