Shanmukh wrote:Rudradev-ji,
The point is - IF we are making the case that Pakistan is a terrorist state, we should put our money where our mouths are.
How would you interpret our orchestrating the multilateral isolation of Pakistan in SAARC, and the corresponding surge forward with BIMSTEC? Is that not putting our money where our mouth is? Even G. Parthasarthy recognizes that these are exactly the kinds of measures we need.
We are investing a ton in Afghanistan ($1B, IIRC). How about demanding that they take concrete measures that will hurt Pakistan? Do we see any new law in Afghanistan that is upsetting Pakistan?
Did you see what the Afghans did when the Pakistanis tried to reinforce the Durand line recently? It was pretty concrete, must have hurt quite a bit, and I would rather see that kind of thing than any law passed. Ashraf Ghani, who was initially propped up by the US as someone who would likely be more amenable to Pakistani influence, has now become their bete noire in all his statements. We're opening up military aid to them all the while. AND they're part of the coalition that has called for a SAARC boycott of Pakistan.
Now one can move the goalposts a thousand times if the sole purpose is to prove the perception that "Modi is doing nothing". Why no law, why no renunciation of MFN, why no declaration of terrorist state, why no this or no that. Fact is, things are being done that were never even considered for a decade or more.
As for Iran, the very fact that they're happily cooperating on Chahbahar shows that they don't give two hoots for Pakistani (or even Chinese) pressure and will gladly set up a corridor that's in direct competition with OBOR or CPEC. Otherwise, what do you want them to do to concretely hurt Pakistan? Why should they? Have we done anything to hurt the GCC, whose proxies Iran accuses of being terrorist? Let's be realistic in our yardsticks here.
How much coverage is the atrocities on Baluch & PoJK folks getting in India? Apart from Modi mentioning it in a few speeches, I have not seen much on the ground. Have the Baluch & PoJK conferences on the areas been established in India? A free Baluchistan/PoJK centre? All these are not clandestine activity - they are open & regular, IF we believe that the Baluch & the PoJK folks are being oppressed & we believe in liberating them. When Indira went against Pakistan in 1971, she did the Mukti-Bahini propaganda openly. This is not clandestine activity. This is normal preparation. The Pakistanis would take us more seriously if we begin educating the INDIANS about Baluchistan & PoJK. Are we doing any of it? I just don't see anything like that now.
You really don't? Boss, the very fact of Modi saying it from the Red Fort is a green signal to Nationalist media to embrace the discourse of Baluch independence. During the UPA regime the only time we heard any public policy reference to Baluchistan was when we "admitted" at Sharm-el-Shaikh that we were "interfering" there. Now of course there is a huge Pak-pasand media presence that would like to suppress any reference to things unpalatable to their paymasters, but even in spite of that, the genie has incontrovertibly been let out of the bottle. Same with PoJ&K (since the '90s Parliamentary resolution, was there any articulation under the UPA government of India's stand that PoJ&K/NA are the legal territory of India?) Whether the discourse intensifies remains to be seen, but I for one detect a profound difference even in what is visible so far.
Everyone will see what they want to see, or not see what they don't want to see, in these things I guess.