India's Pak strategy

There could be millions in this country who are not bothered by the recent turn of events in Pakistan. But then they may not be aware of things happening on the ground there and its implications. Anyone who is in knowledge of those events and understand the implications will be worried and so am I like many other millions of this country.

It would be naive of me to expect Pakistan to punish the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack but then they surprised me with the swift release of LeT leader and the brazenness with which their Prime minister Gilani went about deviating the focus by raking up Kashmir issue and how talks with India won't be possible before resolving the K-dispute. He does not mean it but using it to mask their failure or unwillingness to handle with the terror elements rooted in Pakistan. The release of Saeed must have caused earthquake in world diplomatic circles, but hardly much happened save for usual diatribes from Indian authorities. I was wondering what happened to all the diplomatic work post Mumbai terror attack? Were the global community insensitive to terror threat for India from Pakistan or was the Indian diplomacy lacking? In reality it could be neither but India's strategy to counter terror threat from Pakistan. In fact I wonder whether there is any formal strategy in place other than relying on Washington to keep Pakistan at bay.

Obviously USA is a powerful country with huge stakes all around the world. Every one relies on the big brother to help them out of tough situations and there is nothing wrong in it as long as the big brother has no stakes in it. But if he has and that runs counter to your interests and if you believe the big brother is seeing your pains then you could be wrong. The big brother may be seeing your pains through his dummy eye and the real one is on the other side where his interests are at stake. Am I finding fault with USA? A big NO. In this world, where material comes first, self interests rule high and it's true with everyone and not just US of A. If you are a premier then your first goal would be to safeguard the interests of your nation and your people. Whatever it takes I want my people to be safe and my country to do well. That's absolutely okay in this world. People may ask, what if your self interest means pain to others, will that be okay? It may not be okay from an idealistic point of view but this world is far from the idealistic state. I am finding fault with India's Pak strategy.

Injury is yours, pain is yours and you know the terrorists from across the border are planning to inflict more on you. Pakistan Government hardly decides while the men in Khaki and their wards in camouflage collude with terrorists. What more, the ruling authority in Pakistan, that is responsible for terror elements to grow in that country, and big brother's 'X' men were chums. If our foreign minister and those deciding authorities in the Indian Government think that they could achieve their ends and ensure safety for the citizens of this country with their america-guided-strategy-to-quell-terror from Pak, then I completely disagree with them. They may be sincere in their efforts but the efforts are nothing but heavy dose of pain killers. They mask the pain for awhile as root of the problem grows stronger and in the end even those pain killers become ineffective.

India must reconcile to the fact that terror threat faced by it, from both in and out of this country, is its problem and no one else could seriously help in this matter. It has to do it all by itself except for some diplomatic maneuvering where others support is necessary. It must devise a Pak focused strategy to counter terrorism and must heed to no one, I repeat, to no one, in this matter. The safety and security of its citizens must stand paramount than other considerations. Now that Pakistan's true colors in handling terror elements is starker than ever and has gone backwards in dealing with Mumbai terror attack, India must stop all its dealings with Pakistan and condemn others support to Pakistan in clear language.

India must adopt a 'ZERO' tolerance policy to its security concerns. It must arm itself with a tough terror law that distinguishes between terrorists and side benchers in unambiguous terms. If troops mobilisation is required to show the intent then it must do it. We must formulate a new Security and Anti-terrorism ministry and delink those activities and related offices from the home ministry. Given the size of the country it would be a prudent move to deburden home ministry and focus our energy and attention on maximising and eventually achieving peace and safety in this country. We must improve our intelligence network on the ground in Pakistan and if forced must revert to covert war on terror men and machinery in Pakistan soil. Let us not get cowed down by anyone's pressure to protect their (W)ested interests. We must leave out Corruption and Bureaucracy when it comes to this subject and concerned offices. Clean, Swift and Action must be the words that should dominate the minds. Let's entrust the necessary brains, apparatus and offices to this ministry and focus on tackling terror emanating from both in and outside of our country, unfalteringly and successfullyWe must devise a detailed defence and targeted attack strategy, backed by strong, unflappable intelligence, for all possible scenarios in the event of a war breaking out. War should not be our preferred way to achieve peace but if forced we must be ready take it head on and if possible surprise the enemy.

We can't worry about Pakistan's North-West for the West as we have a West and a whole country to protect from terror elements in all sides of Pakistan. Let's defend and protect our interests and let others protect theirs. If it comes to economic compromise then let's face it bravely.