It was last year this time the India- Pakistan stand-off became clear after the failure to revive the stalled India-Pakistan NSA level-talks. At that time the atmosphere was vitiated by ceasefire violation in RS Pura sector of Jammu region which could be bloodiest one targeted towards civilian population living all along the border and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence at that time was intriguing. While cross border terrorism is one sided-from Pakistan to India-a solution to Kashmir requires both sides to assent. That is the reason Pakistan finds it convenient to discuss both Kashmir and terror. Recently reiterating his stand that Islamabad only wants peace to prevail in Kashmir which has been hit by violence for more than two months, Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit said that even though India had rejected their offer for talks on the matter, he hoped that a dialogue between the two nations was slated soon. So the success of talks depend on how Kashmir is solved and can be used as an alibi for the unconscionable failure to address the issue of projecting terror across India’s borders. Any strategy to counter Pakistan’s mischief has to be well thought out, consistent, and long-term in nature. It must flow from an understanding of what our enemy wants to achieve, and what is in our own interest. Our problem is we think Pakistan is an irrational power and that no strategy may work with them. Pakistan – and especially the Deep State that comprises the army, the ISI and its Jihadi fronts – is a “greedy”, ideological state that will not rest without changing the status quo on our borders. But Pakistan is not just about rearranging borders and grabbing the parts of Jammu and Kashmir that are still in our possession. Pakistan is an all-or-nothing state which seeks victory for the ideology of Islam in addition to grabbing territory. It sees itself as the true successor to Ghazni and Ghori, and its state’s mission is defeating “Hindu India.” This may not be what ordinary Pakistanis want, but it is certainly what Pakistan’s Deep State ideologues want.
