Daily Times

Immediately after the suicide car bomb on the Indian CRPF convoy a few days ago, Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra  Modi himself instantly blamed Pakistan for the attack. The allegation was made before even an inquiry was conducted. As per the news published in the Indian media, Modi has even permitted his armed forces to plan a response against Pakistan. This blame game against Pakistan was carried forward by Indian media and government officials in a hysterical manner.

While doing so, Indian leaders and media houses never acknowledged that Indian security forces themselves have committed so many atrocities and human rights violations on the people of Jammu and Kashmir themselves. The present generation of young Kashmiris has become frustrated and completely alienated from India. Now they can do anything to avenge their honour and dignity, which has been trampled on by the Indian security forces.

However, blaming Pakistan for anything happening in Jammu and Kashmir or India is a part of India’s plan to undermine the political, moral and diplomatic support that Pakistan is providing to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. India’s blame game about Pakistan is also meant to grab Jammu and Kashmir permanently and establish Indian hegemony in South Asia by neutralising Pakistan’s capacity to resist. This anti-Pakistan rhetoric might also help Modi get some additional votes in the upcoming general elections.

Indian leaders and media houses never acknowledged that Indian security forces themselves have committed so many atrocities and human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir

By this way India thinks that it can bring international sanctions on Pakistan, by accusing it of supporting terrorism, it hopes to limit our trade relations, economic assistance and investment as well as the supply of armaments from major military powers. However, failing to isolate Pakistan, India has also used Afghan soil to destabilise Balochistan.

To achieve its above mentioned objectives, India is playing power politics with Pakistan and cashing in on its close relationships with Washington and other international power-centres. India says that it will prepare a dossier on the Pulwama attack, blaming Pakistan, and present it to the FATF so that Pakistan is black listed, which will limit its economic assistance options. Moreover, India is also limiting its own trade with Pakistan. To implement its plans, India is refusing to hold a dialogue with Pakistan over Kashmir and other bilateral issues.

In view of the above it is advisable for Pakistan to devise a suitable counter strategy to fail the ongoing and future Indian designs. In this context, while Pakistan should focus on strengthening its economy by concentrating on the short and long term measures, especially the on time completion of the CPEC, its media should learn to pursue the national objectives as the Indian media do. Pakistan should also enhance the capacity of its diplomatic corps to counter India’s diplomatic offensive. The existing nuclear balance, notwithstanding, to properly respond to the Indian surgical strikes, Pakistan should ensure to also have conventional weapons of the matching capabilities, where we may not compete with the quantity, but we must have at least a minimum number of such weapons.

The writer is a former Research Fellow of Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), Islamabad

Published in Daily Times, February 18^th 2019.