Devsagar Singh
It is a day of reckoning for Pakistan. Having pushed India to the brink, Islamabad was destined to suffer. Terrorist groups need to be annihilated from the Pakistani soil and terrorism as a matter of state policy must be given up once and for all.
For all practical purposes, it is nothing short of an undeclared war between India and Pakistan and the latter is squarely responsible for foisting it on New Delhi. Pahalgam massacre left India with no choice but to respond to attackers and their backers. It is upto Islamabad to de-escalate the situation having launched firing assault on unarmed civilians on this side of the LoC. Now civilians seem to have become deliberate target by Pakistani forces all along the LoC and the international border. This act of impunity cannot but be strongly responded to by India.
Voices of reason , one hopes, prevails sooner than later. If public mood is anything to go by, more difficult times maybe in store for Pakistan. So far, according to reports, it has only violated ceasefire agreement on the LoC. If it dares to cross the LoC it would invite unfathomable trouble for itself. In the situation as it obtains at the moment, the lunatic fringe of the Pakistani armed forces may commit harakiri if not checked firmly by their rabid masters .
India has immense goodwill from the international community because of its responsible actions. There are of course advisories for either countries to desist from further escalating the situation. But it applies more to Pakistan than New Delhi given the suffering the latter had undergone for long and specially after the Pahalgam killings of innocent tourists.
Almost all western nations, including the US, have sympathies with India which they have expressed in no uncertain term after the Pahalgam massacre. Even China has said it is opposed to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. As an all-weather friend of China, Pakistan must take the hint and begin de-escalating the situation in right earnest.
Backdoor diplomacy, observers feel, is underway to bring the heat down. Reports suggest Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister is in town or will be here shortly. Iran’s foreign minister has just visited Delhi via Pakistan. Big leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin are together in Moscow, along with other world leaders, on the occasion of the Victory Day celebrations. They are expected to discuss the situation in the sub-continent.
As for India and the Indian public opinion, the clamour for PoK is rising with each passing day. After all, India’s Parliament has passed a resolution years ago putting its rightful claim on the PoK. The J and K Assembly has vacant seats from the other side of Kashmir.
With the entire nation speaking on one voice over the current situation, can there be any power to checkmate it? Pakistan could be fighting an existential crisis if saner voices do not prevail in that failed country.
Devsagar Singh is senior journalist based in New Delhi