Daily Times

Tensions between India and Pakistan are soaring at the Line of Control (LoC). The Indian government’s policy of imposing costs on minorities in the country and sustaining an air of armed conflict with Pakistan in the neighborhood have created serious concerns for the regional peace.

While the UNSC was holding a meeting to discuss India’s human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, India’s military chief was playing out plans to invade Azad Kashmir. “There is a parliamentary resolution that entire Jammu and Kashmir is part of India. If parliament wants that area (AJK) should be taken we will definitely do so and appropriate action will be taken accordingly,” said India’s new military chief.

Suddenly, tyranny, oppression and panic has gripped Modi’s regime in India. For observers, Modi is still leading an electoral campaign as his government tries to fight every looming crisis in the country by brining Pakistan at the center of all debates.

A cursory look at the growing challenges show why that may be a case. For instance, according to a Forbes report, the state of the Indian economy in 2020 “is the worst it has been in the last 42 years.” A Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report, released in January this year, said around 1.1 crore jobs were lost in 2018 and “joblessness was at a 45-year high in 2017-18.” As nationwide protests against the CAA grow in India, Modi has further pushed his party’s agenda of exclusionary politics. Compounding these challenges is the issue of Jammu and Kashmir: India’s standing on the world stage has been rocked. The world India now figures in debates on protests, communal violence, economic crisis, alienated youth, religious violence and militarization of borders.

Islamabad should not allow India to sidetrack conversation from what’s happening in Jammu and Kashmir. If a military crisis erupts due to India’s adventurism, the world can blame New Delhi, not Islamabad

To escape from all of this, Modi has stuck with his Pakistan phobia. Arguably, normalizing debate on a potential war with Pakistan offers Modi only respite to balance out growing opposition domestically. However, it’s a rabbit hole: the more Modi clings to Pakistan to gain breathing space, the more he is likely to suffer and hurt India in the months to come.

It’s not a surprise that New Delhi is feeding media outlets reports of a possible militant attack on India’s Republic day from Pakistan. Such fake news operations have been deployed before by New Dehli to divert the domestic outburst against NRC/ CAA. Previously, India issued a Red Alert in the Sir Creek Region which turned out another effort on the part of New Delhi’s to stage ‘False Flag Attack’ propaganda for domestic consumption.

Given there is no evidence to ascertain India’s claims regarding the new alert, the naming of Pakistan reflects a predictable pattern on the part of New Delhi to accuse Islamabad for any future crisis before it even happens. The obsession with Pakistan is becoming clear every passing day: A few weeks ago, India’s NSA, Ajit Doval, in a statement said that the “lifting of Kashmir restrictions depends on Pakistan.”

This basically means that New Delhi is not in control when it comes to the Kashmir crisis. Moreover, it also shows that New Delhi is really concerned about Pakistan’s growing diplomatic and political pressure on India.

It only makes sense that India would like to keep its borders hot, in an attempt to engage Pakistan’s role in any subversive activity that may discredit Islamabad. Over the last few weeks, India’s national security planners have been actively looking for evidence to divert attention from the Kashmir situation.

For instance, from arresting civilians and naming them JuD’s workers to creating Pakistan Army’s Border Action Teams (BAT) that are planning attack in Kashmir to blaming Islamabad for “abandoned boats” in Sir Creek, India is making it hard for Pakistan to avoid a crisis. Moreover, it’s important to note that it is India, not Pakistan that has ramped up Integrated battle group deployments across the Line of Control and deployed thousands of troops in the valley.

If Pakistan is moving troops at the LoC or any other sector, it’s to preempt India’s military action rather than launching an offensive against the country. Islamabad needs to make sure that the world knows it’s not the former which may have planned anything subversive; India has other enemies, including a number of separatist groups in the Northern region of the country that stand to gain by launching an offensive against New Delhi.

Islamabad should not allow India to sidetrack conversation from what’s happening in Jammu and Kashmir. If a military crisis crisis erupts due to India’s adventurism, the world can blame New Delhi, not Islamabad.

The writer is a freelance journalist and a correspondent for The Diplomat, based in Lahore, Pakistan