Tuesday, February 27, 2018

MANAGING INDO- PAKISTAN RELATIONSHIP BETTER


Pakistan appears to be continuously troubling India in-spite of its unilateral goodwill gestures like Most favoured Nation status and being magnanimous in releasing water from Himalayan riparian rivers of Jammu & Kashmir. But Pakistan refuses to reciprocate positively.
Pakistan also has successfully managed to control escalation levels as deemed appropriate to its national interests with India being poor & apologetic responder in both in quality & quantum of response. Since its not being hit hard where it matters, Pakistan doesn’t care about human loss of life or en mass movement to deeper areas to avoid shelling.
What is that Pakistan achieves with zero sum behaviour?
In Pakistan Army calls the shots and its survival by being perceived by masses as the only saviour that can protect Pakistan from hostile India, thus its ensured no politician becomes powerful enough to change this perception. Radicalised army, mullahs indoctrination of illiterate youth provides enough raw material as canon fodder foolishly believing about HOORS awaiting in ZANNAT.
Pakistan has successfully leveraged US; Saudi Arabia;OPEC; Islamic countries oil wealth and of late Chinese for aid/loans/grants on various pretexts. But most are reluctant to fund Pakistan army any more, more so after US coming down hard though Chinese are trying to make up to some extent. But Chinese are known to be tough loan givers unlike Americans.
China has been trying to arm/finance Pakistan only to the extent that it keeps being a nuisance to India thereby bogging it down to regional level. Win win for both.
Internal situation in Pakistan is quite precarious. Extreme poverty; military flourishing but masses deprived, mullahs wealthy and powerful but youth unemployable being illiterate and unskilled. Panjabis domination is leading to resentment amongst all other provinces- Sind; FATA; Baluchistan; Pakistan Occupied Kashmir are rising in rebellion against Islamabad. Mullahs backed huge armed groupings not under control of any central authority keep using violence for own agendas. Its amazing how & why has Pakistan survived for so long with such mega problems? Army has exploited this fear of masses by ensuring weak polity and reasonably understanding judiciary.
Pakistan army has kept alive threat of nuclear weapon usage thereby ensuring neutralisation of conventional inferiority & decision dilemma for Indian planners. Since world is extremely sensitive of nuclear weapons, Pak believes India will not to go for full fledged conventional war. Pakistan has put India on defensive & embroiled in internal affairs of counter insurgency. Sorry state for any army. Master stroke by any standards.This carefully nurtured state of affairs has led to perception that Army is the only saviour. Pakistan grand strategists need to be commended for boxing into state of helplessness and our strategists failure to generate suitable befitting response.
Pakistan army for its survival must keep Kashmir & terror in J&K alive. This is the root cause of the Indo-Pak problem.
Does India has option or it must continue to bleed?
Line of control/Border trans border shelling was the norm in early 2000 till AB Vajpayee government put an end to it. Killings on civilians and uniformed personal on both sides with zero-sum results was stopped by statesman PM Vajpayee but seems to be restarting. It achieves nothing and not an option.
Pakistan army image and/or economy being hurt are the only ways to moderate army’s behaviour.
Covert action; water disruption; supporting dissenting elements in PO/Baluchistan; isolating Pakistan at world faura & strangulating terror funding simultaneously extending reciprocal development & technological assistance to ensure leverage. Development and border peace will ensure people’s change of perception about their army. More facilities to aggrieved families; educational scholarships to POK & Balochis; raking up human rights violations In Baluchistan; helping Balochis to take Pakistan army to International Court of Justice for missing masses.
Indian politicians and masses must cooperate with Government rather than demanding immediate retaliation.
Defeat Pakistan army through Mind game as propagated in Gita by driving wedge between masses & army. Pacify LC/Border and initiate indirect actions enumerated in this article.

No comments: