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| Fearing coup Sharif dances to Army's tune | | | BehinD
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Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 10: If not any other nation India does not seem to be in a position to counter political and military "tricks" played by Pakistan from time to time.These tricks can be played by Pakistan alone when on one side its troops,aiding militants,kill five Indian soldiers in an ambush in Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch,on the other Prime Minister,Nawaz Sharif,after feeling sad over the incident,reiterates his keen interest for seeing bilateral talks being resumed as early as possible.
Those in India who blame Nawaz Sharif for all the needling from Pakistan need to be corrected because even as Prime Minister he continues to be a prisoner of indecision,which is the result of machinations from the Army and the ISI.
Even before Sharif was sworn in as Prime Minister he had announced that he would work for promoting friendly ties between India and Pakistan.Do repeated incidents of infiltration from across he LOC and the IB indicate any change in Islamabad's policy vis-à-vis New Delhi ? Certainly not.And one need not blame Nawaz S harif because he may not yet be in a position to dictate terms to the Army.He is scared of the level of intrigues the top brass in the Army can play because he has not forgotten the 1999 episode when his duly elected Government was dislodged through a coup staged by Gen.(Retd) Pervez Musharraf.
Still Nawaz Sharif sought to assuage feelings in India by expressing "sadness" over the recent incidents on the LoC and "loss of precious human lives". He has said he would discuss steps to further build trust when he meets his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in New York next month.Chairing a meeting at the Foreign Office to review tensions in the wake of the killing of five Indian soldiers, Sharif said Pakistan and India should take effective steps to restore ceasefire along the Line of Control."It was imperative for both India and Pakistan to take effective steps to ensure and restore ceasefire on the LoC," Sharif said.
He further said it is "incumbent upon the leadership of both sides not to allow the situation to drift and to take steps to improve the atmosphere by engaging constructively with a view to building trust and confidence".Sharif said he was looking forward to the meeting with Singh in New York during which he intends to discuss steps to further build trust and consolidate the bilateral relationship.
And he has not forgotten his years he had to spend in exile.Reports do indicate that the Army Chief,Gen.Ashfaq Kayani,is one among the top military officers who nurses the ambition to rule Pakistan.And if he is not able to emulate Gen.Musharraf he wishes to remain in the driver's seat dictating things to Nawaz Sharif.
And,according to these reports,the first suggestion Kayani dished out to Sharif was that he should go slow in his progaramme of promoting cordial ties with India which may infuriate and irritate extremists and terrorists.Once it happened the Army and the Government installations besides ruling political leaders may have to face the wrath of terrorists in the shape of gun and grenade attacks on them.
What is peculiar about Pakistan is that in this theocratic country even the Army authorities favour keeping terrorists and extremists in good humour lest they should create added political and security problems for the country and its people.
In the context of these developments it may been seen as political and diplomatic blunder if New Delhi expected since and flexible attitude of Islamabad during any bilat eral dialogue.Hence it will be better for New Delhi to support the Army in its plan to upgrade the security grid on the entire LOC and the IB not only in Jammu and Kashmir but in Punjab and Rajasthan sectors too following reports that Pakistan Army and the ISI have formulated a plan under which rate of ingress of militants into the Indian territory had to be raised.Besides improving border management there was need for strengthening counter insurgency grid within Jammu and Kashmir so that whatever number of militants were active in the state were not able to derail peace and normalcy. |
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