Najm us Saqib<\/p>\n
India has not only formally accepted its past (mis) adventures overseas but also spelled out its future mo\u00addus operandi to advance its national in\u00adterest through forceful application of the \u2018anti-terrorist\u2019 apparatus. A visibly angry Rajnath Singh looked in no mood to spare Pakistan or any other coun\u00adtry if India decided to eliminate anyone anywhere in the world. Though his body language belied the very essence of his intended mes\u00adsage, he tried emulating Nana Patekar of the Bollywood movie \u2018Parinda\u2019 when he said \u201cPakistan mein ghus kay maa\u00adrein gey\u201d – We will infiltrate in Paki\u00adstan and kill. Perhaps, he didn\u2019t realize that by following his PM\u2019s footsteps, he confirmed RAW\u2019s proud performance of twenty successful assassination at\u00adtempts inside Pakistan\u2019s territory – as recently reported by The Guardian. In\u00addirectly, he also admitted that indeed it was the largest democracy in the world that assassinated his fellow Sikh broth\u00ader – Hardeep Singh Nijjar \u2013 in June last year on Canadian soil.
\nIdeally speaking, India should be tak\u00ading The Guardian to the relevant Brit\u00adish Court, seeking compensation for the newspaper\u2019s \u2018atrocious\u2019 allegations. If the contents of the report are baseless and untrue, why must India stop after calling it mere \u2018false propaganda\u2019?
\nWas an official confirmation of India\u2019s policy of fixing \u2018terrorists\u2019 or \u2018undesir\u00adable elements\u2019 overseas necessary or not \u2013 only the Indian Defense Minister knows. Sheer audacity aside, why New Delhi feel the need to expose itself in that manner just a couple of weeks be\u00adfore the general elections? Does India\u2019s wish to join the elite P-5 have anything to do with it? Or was it an effort to rub shoulders with those powerful coun\u00adtries that have a license to kill in any nook and corner of the world with abso\u00adlute impunity? Has anyone in Moscow, Beijing or Washington taken note of the fact that a nuclear state has outrightly threatened its nuclear neighbor of seri\u00adous consequences as and when consid\u00adered appropriate?
\nIs hybrid warfare no longer a se\u00adcret now? Will terrorism be used as a \u2018legitimate\u2019 means to inflict harm or achieve strategic objectives? The UN Security Council must be writh\u00ading in its under-construction intangi\u00adble graveyard somewhere around the Gaza Strip. There goes the remaining relevance of the UN, the International Court of Justice, and the Universal Dec\u00adlaration of Human Rights. At the same time, the fear of sanctions imposed by the international powers that be – qui\u00adetly dissolves in thin air. In the context of the South Asian uneasy nuclear en\u00advironment, herewith perishes the last hope of an immediate d\u00e9tente between India and Pakistan.
\nSingh has not only tacitly admitted his government\u2019s previous covert op\u00aderations in Pakistan but also expressed New Delhi\u2019s willingness to continue the practice, although this time, not so sur\u00adreptitiously. Simultaneously, India wants Canada, the US, and the Five Eyes to be prepared to witness the penultimate war \u2013 in Pakistan and everywhere else. Just like his Cabinet colleague, Jaishan\u00adkar, who maintains that Pakistan is \u2018ir\u00adrelevant\u2019; Singh also has shown great un\u00adderstanding of their Western neighbor. He is confident that Pakistan has \u2018start\u00aded to understand\u2019 India\u2019s power. Has he noticed some weakness recently shown by Islamabad? Was he referring to Paki\u00adstan\u2019s FM\u2019s recently announced desire to start bilateral trade with India?
\nIndia\u2019s desperation over its inability to \u2018control\u2019 the South Asian geostrategic situation is visible, particularly with its Western neighbor\u2019s principled stand\u00adpoints on \u2018core\u2019 issues. It also shows New Delhi\u2019s desire to manifestly prove the other side of \u2018Shining India\u2019 while redefining democracy. Flexing its mus\u00adcles everywhere could very well be an attempt to showcase its credentials as a major regional power. The audacious behavior also goes hand in glove with the BJP\u2019s RSS and Hindutva designs, aiming at glorifying the idea of Akhand Bharat. China being out of reach, both economically and militarily, Pakistan re\u00admains the only pebble in the shoe as far as India\u2019s desire to \u2018rule\u2019 the SAARC re\u00adgion is concerned.
\nDoes the rhetoric have anything to do with the soon-to-be-held general elec\u00adtions in India? Not really. However, since Pakistan \u2018bashing\u2019 attracts non-Muslim Hindu voters, the possibility cannot be ruled out either. Killing two birds with one stone could very well be the objec\u00adtive. Let the Indians know the real power and capabilities of their country when it comes to dealing with the enemy while at the same time- let us not overlook the standard anti-Pakistan narrative.
\nIs New Delhi planning another false flag operation? One would not be total\u00adly surprised if it is so. In fact, looking at India\u2019s track record, any such misadven\u00adture is a bit overdue now. Is India pre\u00adparing grounds for all future \u2018untoward\u2019 incidents inside Pakistan under the pre\u00adtext of chasing so-called terrorists? Now that it is all in the open and its actions and designs have been exposed by The Guardian, India would not mind under\u00adtaking any future \u2018projects\u2019 inside Pak\u00adistan that look like a \u2018reaction\u2019 rather than an \u2018action\u2019. The \u2018assumed\u2019 legitima\u00adcy to \u2018infiltrate and kill\u2019 might have been created to have a free hand in harassing its archrival.
\nHas India joined hands with TTP in their common objective to weaken the State of Pakistan? Far-fetched but not impossible. Applying the analogy – an enemy\u2019s enemy is a friend – and keep\u00ading in view India\u2019s recent closeness with Afghanistan, this possibility cannot be ruled out either.
\nShould Pakistan be worried? No. It\u2019s nothing new. Singh has said what Pak\u00adistan would expect from India particu\u00adlarly since the developments of August 2019 and after experiencing a few vio\u00adlations of its air space, ground, and wa\u00adters. If a cruise missile can accidental\u00adly land in Pakistan from India and the latter could get away with its sheer in\u00adtransigence, any misadventure could be expected. What must Pakistan do and how should Pakistan respond? Well, a standard response by the Foreign Of\u00adfice, calling Singh\u2019s remarks as \u2018provoc\u00adative\u2019 and \u2018myopic\u2019 and observing that such rhetoric only \u2018impedes the pros\u00adpects of constructive engagement in the long term\u2019 \u2013 has already been given. Subsequently, the Defense Minister of Pakistan has vowed to give a \u2018resound\u00ading response\u2019 if it tried to infiltrate again. So far, so good.
\nWhat next? Besides taking up the mat\u00adter at every possible important world forum and urging the international community to check India\u2019s \u2018nefarious\u2019 designs, Pakistan needs to take one im\u00adportant overdue step. Let us desist from expecting miracles or making outland\u00adish proposals such as initiating bilateral trade with India, particularly during the ongoing \u2018terrorized\u2019 tug of war. Mean\u00adwhile, let India get trapped in its own devious designs. As Napoleon Bonapar\u00adte would advise – never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
\nThe writer is a former Ambassador of Pakistan and author of eight books in three languages. He can be reached at najmussaqib1960@msn.com<\/p>\n
Courtesy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Najm us Saqib India has not only formally accepted its past (mis) adventures overseas but also spelled out its future mo\u00addus operandi to advance its national in\u00adterest through forceful application of the \u2018anti-terrorist\u2019 apparatus. A visibly angry Rajnath Singh looked in no mood to spare Pakistan or any other coun\u00adtry if India decided to eliminate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[12978],"class_list":{"0":"post-399477","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-najm-us-saqib"},"yoast_head":"\n