Pakistan Based Terrorism And Suicide Bombings Against India Raising Ugly Head Again – Analysis

By Dr Subhash Kapila

Pakistan-based and Pakistan-reared terrorism and suicide bombings against India targeting Kashmir Valley have again raised their ugly heads in February 2019 which again brings into central focus the despicable permissive roles of Pakistan primarily and China for impeding in United Nations in successive years the designation of JeM chief Masood Azhar as an ‘International Terrorist’.

The above manifested itself in horrific brutality in the dastardly Vehicle Borne IED suicide bombing in Pulwama in South Kashmir Valley against buses ferrying CRPF forces to Srinagar resulting in loss of 44 CRPF soldiers’ lives and many injured in its wake. Pakistan based JEM claimed credit for this dastardly suicide attack on Indian police forces maintaining law and order in Kashmir Valley.

Till the time of writing this Paper no official condemnation or condolences have emanated either from Pakistan or China. Media reports of both countries surveyed do not yield any such basic adherence to diplomatic norms. Their studied silence will be belatedly explained as that Pakistan and China were awaiting more detailed reports on the perpetrators of this suicide bombing.

Noticeable also in India is that till the time of writing this Paper no condemnations have emerged from Saudi Arabia and the UAE who have recently bailed out Pakistan with financial largesse to obviate Pakistan’s dependence on IMF bailouts. This becomes more telling in view of the fact that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince will be first visiting Pakistan and then India this month

In marked contrast, the United States, Russia, Israel and France and nearly all of the South Asian countries have condemned this suicide bombing and expressed remorse and sympathy with India. In United States many Senators and Congressmen have come out in condemnation.

Besides Pakistan and China’s permissiveness in adopting stands which encourage Pakistan based terrorism and suicide bombings targeting India, noticeable also is the lack of outright and unequivocal condemnation of Pulwama suicide attacks by the Indian media so-called mainstream political leaders of Kashmir Valley. These leaders have been critically calling on India for peace talks with Pakistan but not vocally critical on Pakistan Army’s ISI destabilising activities amongst their midst or being critical of China for shielding JeM Terrorist Chief, Masood Azhar from being named by the United Nations as an ‘Internationalist Terrorist’.

The foregoing generate serious implications for Pakistan and China both in their bilateral relationships with India and also their direct/indirect complicity in fostering disruptive and hostile intended activities which all right thinking Indians can only construe as direct challenges to India’s sovereignty and integrity.

Arising from the permissive policy attitudes of Pakistan and China on Pakistan based and Pakistan Army sponsored terrorism and suicide bombings against India, serious challenges to India’s National Honour, Sovereignty and Integrity have now to be met head-on and cannot continue to be shelved under the carpet vainly hoping that Pakistan and China will effectively change their permissive mindsets on this aspect.

Pakistan will not change its terrorism stripes as it has tasted the heady success of Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan against the Former Soviet Union and now led to believe that United States pressures on Pakistan by President Trump did not work and the United Sates ultimately seeks Pakistan’s help in relation to another Pakistan Sponsored terrorist grouping of Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan believes that its successes in Afghanistan can be replicated against India with particular reference to Kashmir Valley. Pakistan’s ISI has for decades attempted to turn Kashmir Valley into India’s Vietnam but could not do so. The simple reason is that the bulk of the Kashmir Valley people with exception of the hard-line fringe elements and the ambiguity of Kashmir Valley politicians, the bulk of the people are not with the Separatists or inclined towards Pakistan. This was evident in the 1965, 1971 and the 1999 Wars inflicted by Pakistan on India.

In view of Pakistan’s continued persistence in adversarial modes against India more manifested in recent statements by new Pakistan PM Imran Khan and his over-ambitious Foreign Minister Qureshi, no political space exists for any departure from India’s policy on Pakistan since 2014.

In fact, India needs to put into place a more hard-line approach to the present regime in Islamabad which because of political expediency has ‘synchronised’ its India-policy more markedly with that of the Pakistan Army Generals sitting in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan’s resort to asymmetric and now hybrid warfare strategies against India need to be met with equal if not more telling responses from India with more devastating effect in vulnerable areas of Balochistan, Sindh, Frontier Areas and Gilgit-Baltistan. Because if for Pakistan terrorism and suicide bombings against India by the ‘Snakes it has Reared in its Backyard’ is Pakistan’s game then India needs to play Pakistan’s game.

China’s intentions towards India have never been “Benign”. The China-Pakistan Axis against India is now fully in play for some time. China for its own national security interests and safeguarding the Eastern Flank of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passing through India’s Kashmir under Pakistan Army Occupation has deliberately synchronised its aims with those of the Pakistan Army convergently, and which includes Pakistan based terrorism and suicide bombings against India.

India should realise that there is no such things as the ‘Wuhan Spirit’ misguidedly propagated so by the Indian Foreign Policy Establishment.  China along with Pakistan will continue to be decidedly adversarial to India and should figure high in India’s military threat perceptions.

Coming to the Kashmir Valley and its turbulence exploited by Pakistan Army ISI through terrorism, suicide bombings and stone pelting paid youth to thwart security forces counter–terrorism operations, time has come to ‘Trifurcate J& K State into three Union Territories of Jammu., Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. Thereafter, the Kashmir Valley has to be “sanitised” of all separatists, Terrorists, politicians with divided loyalties and local militant sympathisers with a heavy hand. If need be such politicians be externed from Kashmir Valley for the duration that the Valley can be sanitised.

Trifurcations will lead to better administration, effective and localised counter-terrorism operations with better intelligence. Kashmir Valley for some time needs Governmental approaches which are security-centric and not political process-centric. That can be resumed when sanity dawns on the fringe elements.

India’s own domestic house needs to be put in order where Opposition parties’ leaders flock to Lahore or to Beijing or to Kailash Mansarovar for parleys with India’s adversaries for petty political gains. National Security issues cannot be politicised and nor can National leaders of the Opposition be visually siting at events decidedly Anti-Indian as at the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’seditious event at JNU.

India’s liberalism cannot overlook the serious seditious activities generated within India by those bent on destroying the Indian State. Where will be Indian liberalists if India itself stands destroyed, India’s judiciary and Parliament need to bring and enforce strict laws on sedition in case of terrorism and Anti-Indian activities?

The Indian media should also desist in giving prominence by including known Anti-India baiters especially from Kashmir Valley as this may be good for raising TRPs but harmful for India’s security.

Concluding, it needs to be stressed that in relation to Pakistan’s terrorism and suicide bombings against India and so encouraged by China in shielding Pakistan-based Terrorists Chiefs at the United Nations, it is time India resets its relations with these countries. No space exists for reconciliation or appeasement. India to defend its own National Honour must stand FIRM and adopt matching counter-measures and for this India’s War Preparedness on a fast track can no longer be ignored.