Daily Times

Reports that an Indian submarine tried to weasel its way into Pakistani waters on October 16, only to be blocked and sent back by the Pakistani navy, are very concerning and should be taken up at relevant international platforms. While the incident shows that our maritime defence, just like all other aspects of our defence calculus, is up to scratch, the incident still raises a number of very uncomfortable questions. Especially since this was the third time that India tried and failed to infiltrate Pakistani waters.

The first, of course, is what could possibly possess Delhi to order such an exercise. Things are already at their tense-most between the two South Asian rivals and just a few years ago both countries came perilously close to war when India’s air force tried similar adventures only to have two of its fighter jets blown out of the sky and one of its pilots captured. The second is just what signal this is going to send to the international community. Surely everybody has seen enough to understand that Pakistan’s concerns about false-flag operations are true and India is looking for an excuse to lure Pakistan into a wide ranging conflict; one in which it hopes the numerical superiority of its military will play to its advantage. And the third, and perhaps most important question, is what should Pakistan do now that the ball is in its court?

The security situation in the subcontinent is already on a hair trigger. So far Pakistan has displayed remarkable restraint despite India’s unwarranted belligerence. But things are fast coming to the point there Islamabad would have to put its foot down once and for all. This was, after all, the third such attempt by the Indian navy; they had to beat similar hasty retreats in March 2019 and November 2016 as well. Yet it’s regrettable that the international community has chosen to stay mum about this matter so far. It does not realise that instability, especially war, in the subcontinent will hurt everybody and their markets; so it might not be the best idea to egg India on no matter what it does in the region. For its part, Pakistan must make its position clear for everybody to see and know that it will not tolerate such misadventures in future. *