Daily Times

No one knows how to kill two birds with one stone like Indian hawks. On one hand, their propaganda machines are hard at work, painting a routine cargo bound for Karachi as laced with super-secret weapons said to help Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme. This recent seizure under the guise of suspicions of nuclear proliferation is a classic example of how twisting facts paves the ground for furthering geopolitical agendas. By painting Pakistan as a rogue state, India seeks to isolate its neighbour and weaken its position on the global stage.

However, as accusations and counter-accusations fly back and forth like bullets in a war zone, New Delhi can very conveniently sweep its own misdoings under the rug. Putting Pakistan in a tight spot– accusing it of attempting to test India’s deterrence capacity–may give the whiff of safeguarding India’s national security interests, but it is, instead, a clever ploy to deflect attention from its aggressive tactics in the region.

The mystery surrounding the 2022 launch of a BrahMos missile into Pakistani territory, which had sent shockwaves across the diplomatic arena, has not lifted to date. Indian authorities were quick to downplay the incident, terming it as a mere mistake by low-level Air Force officers. However, the implications of such a grave error cannot be brushed aside so easily.

India’s attempt to cover up the fiasco by conducting a court of inquiry and sacking a few scapegoats only serves to highlight the lack of seriousness and ineptness on the part of the military establishment. The fact that such a catastrophic event could occur due to negligence raises serious questions about the safety and security mechanisms in place for handling deadly weapons like nuclear-capable missiles.

The agenda can easily be read from afar: By provoking its neighbour with such aggressive tactics, India seeks to gauge the response and poke holes in Pakistan’s military and nuclear policies. Moreover, this lack of transparency in the inquiry report and the failure to address key questions regarding the authenticity of launch orders only add to the suspicions surrounding India’s true intentions.

The fact that New Delhi may be drifting away from its No First Use Doctrine and considering a preemptive strike against Pakistan is a cause for grave concern in the region. The international community should take immediate action against a series of developments that could spark a fresh round of tensions between the South Asian rivals. *