I'm creating a post after a long time. Several things kept me away from the Internet in general and the blog, in particular. Thanks to the box sold to me by HP, calling it a laptop I have been virtually disconnected with cyberspace for past so many weeks. This led to me a resolution- no more HP products.
The world has changed a lot in such a short span of time. But perhaps the most important incident (rather, a chain of incidents) of late has been the terrorist attacks on Mumbai. While this has presented yet another opportunity to our leaders and bureaucrats to blame our neighbour perhaps this is the right time to view the issue of Pakistan sponsored terrorism (in the sense of terrorism having roots in Pakistan although not necessarily sponsored by the Pak government) - perhaps now is the time to think of solutions that will hold us in good stead if terrorism were to strike again from the eastern side of our frontier. Most importantly, perhaps it is the time to test all 'traditional' and cliched arguments in respect of Indo-Pak relationship.
I think crucial to the understanding of the involvement of Pakistan in terrorism and terrorist acts on our soil is an appreciation of the fact that ISI and Pakistani Armed Forces long ago established and created a niche for themselves above Government. So no matter who the PM or President of Pakistan is, these agencies are capable of continuing to plan and execute these plans independent of any support from the Government.
All arguments calling for a 'decisive' war with Pakistan must perhaps be tested against this truth- we launch a war, we win the war and then ... what next? Even the almighty US is finding it difficult to tackle hardcore Islamic militants in the Tribal belt of Pakistan- will we prove to be any better?
Similarly, all arguments for tackling this issue solely at the diplomatic level need to be tested against the fact of ISI-Pak Army duo being capable to fund and support terrorism on our soil irrespective of any support from the government. Will any civil government of Pakistan be able to rein in these elements without facing the threat of elimination?
The answer, in my humble opinion clearly lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum (whose ends consist of decisive war and diplomacy) and it is the job of those 'foreign policy experts' to find a solution.
