Plotting pulwama an admission and a sobering scenario

Plotting pulwama an admission and a sobering scenario

We owe to Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry the valuable admission, on the floor of the national assembly, that Pakistan orchestrated the February 2019 Pulwama terror strike. That admission must also be placed in the larger context of the political debate taking place inside Pakistan, where the PML(N) has directly criticised the army and ISI for their blatant interference in politics.

This has, predictably, drawn a fusillade of criticism from the army’s supporters – and the easiest and cheapest shot here is to suggest that PML(N) is soft on India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (to be labelled ‘Modi ka yaar’ is considered damning in Pakistani politics). PML(N) leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has retaliated by seeing in the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan a caving in to India, even suggesting that army chief of staff Qamar Bajwa became knock-kneed at the prospect of fighting India. Those rhetorical flourishes have had their counterpart in India as well, as BJP president JP Nadda seized upon Sadiq’s comments to claim that Rahul Gandhi doesn’t have faith in the Indian army.

Such flourishes aside, the sobering scenario that should concentrate minds in New Delhi is what happens if there is another Pulwama-style attack. While New Delhi would be within its rights to retaliate, the PLA might seize the opportunity to launch another 1962 style attack across the LAC. Given this state of play, New Delhi must cultivate as many friends abroad as possible. Signing BECA with the US on top of previous logistics agreements, standing with France which has suffered terror attacks, inviting Australia to participate in the Malabar exercises, are steps in the right direction. The government should also reach out to opposition parties at home, to cement national unity in the face of a looming threat.