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| India's right, bold stand on Pakistan | | J&K is Indian | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, July 28: Indian foreign policy vis-à-vis Pakistan has, it seems, over the days undergone a positive change. July 21, 22 and 23 witnessed Indian Foreign Office (IFO) spokesperson Vikas Swarup, Minister of State for External Affairs, MJ Akbar, and External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, taking a clear line on Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan.
On July 23, Sushma Swaraj, who otherwise is known for her highly sophisticated interventions, used the strongest words to tell Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and shall ever remain an integral part of India and the dream of Pakistan Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif that Kashmir one day will become part of Pakistan shall always remain a dream.
"The whole of India would like to tell the Prime Minister of Pakistan that this dream will not be realised even at the end of eternity. The whole of Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India. You will never be able to make this heaven on earth a haven for terrorists. The country which has used fighter planes and artillery against millions of its own people has no right whatsoever to point a finger at our brave, professional and disciplined police and security forces. Their restraint and respect for fellow citizens is evident in the unusually high number of injured personnel - more than 1,700 - in the violence unleashed with the support from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir," she, inter-alia, said while giving a befitting national response to Pakistan Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif's provocative statement that Kashmir one day will become part of Pakistan.
"Their (Kashmiri Muslims') movement for freedom cannot be stopped and it will be successful. You are aware of how they (in this case Kashmiri stone-pelters and others in the restive Kashmir Valley) are being beaten and killed. All our prayers are with them and we are waiting for the day Kashmir becomes (part of) Pakistan," Mian Nawaz Sharif had said on July 22 while addressing a public meeting at Muzaffarabad after his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) won Pakistan-occupied-Jammu and Kashmir sham Assembly's election.
Indeed, what Sushma Swaraj said while explaining away the national stand on Jammu and Kashmir could be legitimately construed as the most strongest-ever response given by any Indian External Affairs Minister.
A day before, her deputy MJ Akbar had also tore into Pakistan and rejected its foreign policy-vis-à-vis India provocative and against all cardinal principles of diplomacy. MJ Akbar without mincing words told the Lok Sabha that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had drawn the line and the line was talks and terror can't co-exist.
Describing as the longest the covert war launched by Pakistan against India in Kashmir, MJ Akbar said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strengthened the line drawn by then Prime Minister (Atal Behari Vajpayee) during Agra Sumit by making it categorically clear that talks and terror can't co-exist". Not just this, he in unequivocal terms also defended the killing of the dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and advised the media and others not to "glorify" his killing.
On the other hand, on July 21, IFO spokesperson Vikas Swarup emphatically told Pakistan that this part of Jammu and Kashmir was a settled issue, that the only issue which still remains unresolved between the two nations was the determination of the political future of Pakistan-occupied- Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan and that Pakistan must vacate these territories, which were legitimately Indian. POJK and Gilgit-Baltistan have been under the illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1947-1948.
"Vacate illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (read POJK and Gilgit-Baltistan. We have seen reports about rallies, events and statements related to Jammu and Kashmir in Pakistan and POJK over the last two days…India strongly condemns the encouragement and support which terrorists and their activities receive from Pakistan's state. Pakistan must stop inciting and supporting violence and terrorism in any part of India," Vikas Swarup said while hitting out at Pakistan over its "deplorable meddling" into the internal affairs of India.
All this only serves to demonstrate a shift in the India's foreign policy vis-à-vis Pakistan. It is completely different from what the Narendra Modi Government pursued between July and December 2015 at Ufa (Russia) on July 10, at Paris (France) on December 1, at Bangkok (Thailand) on December 6, at Islamabad (Pakistan) on December 8 and 9 and at Lahore on December 25.
It appears that it was the January 2, 2016 terror attack on the strategic Pathankot airbase and the events which unfolded thereafter, including the Pakistani direct interference in Kashmir, plus the pressure from below or the national sentiment, have motivated or compelled or induced New Delhi to harden its stand and adopt a line that suits the country.
It is a significant development. And what is all the more significant is the fact this this shift in New Delhi's foreign policy vis-à-vis Pakistan took place at a time when Kashmir is in turmoil and many hostile forces in and outside India have ganged up to promote the Pakistani cause in Jammu and Kashmir and cause a grievous injury to the India's paramount sovereign interests in this border state.
It is hoped that New Delhi will not deviate from the path it has started treading. This is the only rational and national path that y of India and puts the enemies of India on the mat. Narendra Modi Government has everything to gain and nothing to lose by pursuing a pro-active policy towards Pakistan and J&K. |
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