BINAYAK DATTA
Once again, planned villainy struck and four brave sons of our great nation standing vigil on the international border in one case and at Shopian in South Kashmir in the other were brutally gunned down by the Pakistan Army and their aided and extended arms. But the savagely act of mutilation of the body of the BSF Head Constable in the first case is too heinous to even think. In the last two years, this was the seventh case of dead body mutilations – it’s so horrendous! Do the parents in this 21st century have not even the right to get their just-martyred boy back in one piece? What sort of a global order does Pakistan follow, and even more surprising, not a single International Voice was heard against this barbarism on the part of a neighbour on a soldier of the other neighbour? I am sure humanity stood still in silence, heads down in disgrace, in witness of this extreme expression of malice! As a correct step in my view, India put off the Foreign Ministers’ talks at the UNGA at New York, ironically called to start the process of “shaking off of the accumulated air of mistrust”!
I thought it useful to look at the new horizons at the emerging Indo Pak relationship with the entry of a new regime at Islamabad – a Prime Minister an accomplished sportsman – absolutely new to the complicated bhool-bhoolaiya (the labyrinthian) narrow passages of neighbours’ diplomacy! But I’m no diplomat – I give my views here, purely as a reasonably educated, free thinking, well-meaning senior with eyes on peace, harmony and positive co-existence. I decided to look at the issue from the following four angles a) the setting in of the new regime in Pakistan b) the expectations in India, a new neighbour moving in next door – the door with permanent past hostility (so it seems) with our country – completely unprovoked and in the face of multitude of positive efforts made by our country in bringing in a regime of durable international peace and harmony in the region c) the effects now seen and d) the road ahead.
Imran’s proximity to army
If Pakistan was any other “normal” democracy of the world, I would have expected marked changes in the Indo-Pak ties with the advent of a sportsman and a pair of fresh eyes and ears behind the wheel. Having been an accomplished sportsman myself, I know we look at things differently. “I really want to fix our ties, you take one step forward – we will take 2” Imran Khan roared in an election meet. A few prisoners were indeed exchanged on the independence days and that was all it was, in reply to a short congratulations from Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Imran Khan’s swearing in. Khan is no ordinary player. He was the high-profile Pakistan captain in his hey days, so it had to be different for him – I tried to reason with myself! Yes, he had difficult days ahead with a debt to GDP of 67 per cent, a current account deficit ballooning at 14 per cent and a GDP growing at 5.8 per cent – add to that a tough army, and those terror camps in POK – life was certainly going to be slightly more crooked than the smooth Rawalpindi pitch! But that was hardly to be, as right from the days of the run-up to the polls, Imran Khan had been exhibiting unmistakably the most uncricketer-like, un-pace-swing-bowler’s traits and his proximity to the Army Establishment was pronounced.
No change
I hoped fervently we don’t go overboard trying to open up dialogues – fortunately – not “dialogues” but “engagements and shared vision” of the Vajpayee era were talked of from the New Delhi side. Khan was actually now clearly batting with the army and he was soon heard referring to Kashmir as his “core issue”! In one of his victory rallies, he was even heard equating Kashmir with India and Baluchistan. This couldn’t have been the narrative of a fresher willing to look national issues on their face – couldn’t have come from a scheming pacer -bowling suddenly a slow straighter! The army and terror started showing! That Khan stressed on Kashmir, but nothing on trade ties was in my view a clear indication which way the weathercock would point to and I stand convinced now, there is absolutely no change at all in Pakistan’s perceptions of the region’s issues.
Border skirmishes continue at high speed. In only the last two years, 69 army and BSF jawans have been martyred, seven of them have been mutilated. Its history going on and on repeating itself, no change at all as in Jahn Le Carre՛’s ‘A Most Wanted Man’ and he says……“Tomorrow was created yesterday…….And by the day before yesterday, too. To ignore history is to ignore the wolf at the door.” Couldn’t be more accurate – really!
Need for Action
Take the matter of mutilating dead soldiers up most strongly at International Bodies, move the Geneva convention….”Rule 113: Each party to the conflict must take all possible measures to prevent the dead from being despoiled. Mutilation of dead bodies is prohibited.”…. go to the ICJ with the International Humanitarian Laws and create tremendous pressure on Pakistan. Shame anybody giving any aid to Pakistan. My second point is pressure – do not reopen SAARC or other dialogues. In fact, we should through Asia Cricket Council and through Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan call for a boycott of Pakistan from the ACC till it stops terror links. It looks so awkward – on one hand our sons at the border are being mutilated and on the other we are at a cricket match with them.
Whilst it seems Pakistan is bent on losing opportunities for itself in trade, in economics, in logistics and in cultural exchanges, the best way for us is to put and continue with tremendous pressure from all sides till they see reason and restore honour for humanity. Unfortunately, to me, there seems no other way out.