14 February, 2019 saw one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir when a local Kashmiri boy rammed a car laden with explosive into a CRPF convoy of 78 buses leading to the death of nearly 40 CRPF soldiers. Later on, investigation revealed that the bomber was Adil Ahmed Dar, Jaish-e-Mohammed operative who was native of Kakopora, and joined militancy a year ago. This attack on the Indian soil was unequivocally condemned by all world leaders and the United Nation Security Council.
“Attack on CRPF personnel in Pulwama is despicable. I strongly condemn this dastardly attack. The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain. The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the families of the brave martyrs. May the injured recover quickly,” PM Narendra Modi said.
But the question that remains is that do we have a long term Kashmir policy or is it just a piece of land over which main stream political parties are winning elections by bashing Pakistan.
Role Of Khan’s Naya Pakistan
“Gar firdaus bar-rue zamin ast,
hami asto, hamin asto , hamin ast”
“If there is a heaven on earth,
It’s here, it’s here, it’s here”
These are Amir Khusro’s famous words describing the sheer beauty of Kashmir. But this beauty had been fading for long and now Kashmir has turned itself into a hot bed of radical Islam and the credit for this transformation goes to Pakistan’s policy of constant radicalization of Kashmiris.
Jaish- e-Mohammed, a Pakistan based terror outfit claimed the responsibility of attack on Indian security personnel in Pulwama, whose leader Masood Azhar freely roams in Pakistan. This punctures the whole idea of the so called “Naya Pakistan”, which has been put forward by Imran Khan. The whole idea of Imran to have peace with India is a flawed one as he is Prime Minister appointed by the Pak Army, even if someone ignores the manner he was elected, his actions on ground narrate a different story.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi during an event said Imran Khan has “bowled a googly at India by opening Kartarpur Sahib Corridor” and with the presence of Gopal Chawla. A vocal supporter of Khalistan with Pakistan, General Bajwa, narrates a deep-rooted conspiracy of Pakistan army and its political leadership to revive the ghost of Khalistan by fanning Sikh sentiments against the Indian state. India needs to keep a vigil eye on Pakistan’s policies and deal with Imran the same way his predecessors were dealt with.
Lack Of Will
The present NDA regime came to power by building up on a notion that it will solve the Kashmir problem and deal with Pakistan in a firm way, but the reality was quite different as India lacked will at different fronts. In 2016, NDA forged alliance with PDP, a party which is soft on separatists but it was a bold move to bring all the regions i.e. Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh together. But due to political struggle, the alliance came to an end and present situation is that J&K is under President’s rule. This is a prime example of political failure and people of J&K feel disenchanted and disgruntled. which can lead to complete loss of faith in political parties and civil administration.
The second front on which India has failed is the lack of long term Kashmir Policy, and as a result Pulwama happened. It was not a failure but an embarrassment for Indian state which doesn’t have a vision to deal with Kashmir. In the past, the union government appointed Dineshwar Sharma, interlocutor for J&K but nothing concrete came out of it other than raids on Hurriyat leaders by NIA post Uri attacks. Third, how an attack of such a magnitude happened in the first place and where did the security agencies miss the plot? If India continues to ignore all these threats then neither Pulwama terror attack is the first nor will it be the last.
Options Left With India
After the terror attack on the CRPF convoy, the question that arises is ‘how will India tackle Pakistan-based terror groups and the situation in Kashmir?’ The answer is through diplomatic, political and military pressure. India can review Indus water treaty, which is a water sharing mechanism between India and Pakistan that came into existence in 1960. Under this treaty, all the water of eastern rivers i.e. Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi is available for unrestricted use in India and India should let unrestricted flow of water from western rivers to Pakistan.
India is allowed to use the water of western rivers for “non-consumptive” needs. Under the Indus Water Treaty, 80% of the water is allocated to Pakistan and India is left with 20% of the water. Till date, India hasn’t fully used its share of water as goodwill gesture but the recent announcement by Union Minister of Water has said that India will divert its share of water. On the diplomatic front, we need to corner Pakistan at every platform whether at FATF or UN and Indian efforts did bear fruits when United Nation Security Council condemned the attack and named Jaish-e-Mohammed as its perpetrator. Great news came in when France announced to move a proposal at UN Security Council to ban Masood Azhar. but we are not sure whether China will allow it.
Last but not the least, is the military way of dealing with terrorism. Unlike the surgical strike after Uri attack, this time India must show pragmatism and less of jingoism and neutralize the terrorist camps across the border in a well calibrated and precise strike. In Kashmir, we need cohesion between security agencies and follow more covert policies to wipe out militancy.
Pulwama terrorist attack should be taken as a wake up alarm and a long term framework must be designed by the Government of India by taking advice and suggestion from security agencies, political parties and civil society regarding J&K and Pakistan. Post Pulwama terror attacks, media has been creating hysteria across India due to which innocent Kashmiri people are being targeted, this should stop because these incidents will ultimately give to rise in militancy, which is exactly what Pakistan and terror outfits want. Hence, the Government of India must ensure the security and safety of Kashmiris.