There has been a flurry of activity across the LoC due to the
recent infiltration bids by the Pakistanis and subsequent flushing attempts by
Indian army for last two weeks. The
massive incursion bids have an imbued message which needs to be urgently addressed
by India. These fresh infiltrations coincide with the political skirmishes
within our country. The country has witnessed an open political rivalry between
a bungling government and its former Army General Vijay Kumar Singh. An enquiry
was initiated to investigate the activities of the secret Technical Support
Division (TSD) under his tenure. Government has been sitting on the report for
more than past six months have resorted to calculated politically motivated
leaking. The report was immediately leaked in a newspaper following the public
appearance of the general on same platform along with Narendra Modi at a
meeting in Rewari, Haryana addressing ex-servicemen.
The revelations of the enquiry which contained various
details about army activities have been published by a newspaper. The entire
episode took an ugly turn following the innocuous interpretations of the media
houses about the working of armed forces. Further, an unabashed votary of Singh
in television channels has added more fuel to fire. All the excruciating
efforts made by the Indian military as a part of counter-insurgency operations
in the Kashmir Valley to restore stability have come under severe scrutiny. It
has attempted to even question the patriotism and the commitment of Army, its
non partisan style of working in a democratic country. Nation was tormented by
the frivolous doubts about the apolitical nature of the military. The ugly war
between the government and the retired general caused a grave damage to
national security. Though the political
ambitions of the general V.K. Singh have been attributed to be the reason for
the dastardly exposure of the highly confidential reports, is it really a
substantial reason enough?
Even the internal bickering among the ruling party had also
vitiated the existing fragile state of affairs. The public outcry of the Vice
President of the Congress Party when the Prime Minister was on US tour on the
Ordinance and its subsequent withdrawal publicly exposed the vulnerability of
the prime minister’s role in crucial decision making. The meek submission of
prime minister reinforced the dubious stature of prime minister. The subdued
style of functioning, lack of tough stance on the border issues and foreign
policy strategies has provided impetus to the belligerent Pakistan. Prime
minister wanted to create a positive legacy in the last year of his tenure by
resuming talks with Pakistan. Hence he defied stiff opposition in the wake of
infiltration bids just days before the scheduled talks. But a moderate and non-hawkish
approach towards Pakistan by our prime minister can never entail any progress
in mutual bilateral relations.
Four massive infiltration attempts have been made by the
Pakistani army since September 23rd. In spite of incursion just
ahead of the diplomatic talks between India and Pakistan at New York, Prime
minister participated. In fact nothing concrete has been agreed upon in the much
hyped up talks except for assigning the task of cease fire operations to be
directed by their Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO’s). DGMO’s are
expected to meet on a regular basis and exchange information for restoration of
ceasefire.
A deep soul searching indicates that Pakistan’s moves have
been emboldened by the current abrasion of speculative political role of the
military and a weak government which is reduced to a non-entity. The petty
politics played by the government has taken a severe toll not only on the
morale of forces but also provided our wary neighbour enough cue to ride on our
backs. There is no denying of the fact that exposing the crucial details of the
ongoing enquiry came from the highest levels of the government to derail the
political ambitions of General VK Singh. The consequences loomed in the form of
recent spate of aggressions in the Keran sector of the Kashmir Valley. The
armed forces have intensified their flushing operations in the dense forests of
the Keran sector to nab the most trained terrorists and sophisticated arms
operators. Army Chief, General Bikram Singh has allayed fears of seemingly
Kargil like situation. The intense battle has been continuing across the LoC
for the past 15 days. Can India afford such kind of alarming tension at LoC
borders more often? Is there something amiss in our diplomatic strategy which
is giving way for these aggressive infiltrations? It is high time India sets right its foreign
policy in order to avoid unwarranted morale setback for the forces who are
securing our borders.
Pakistan hasn’t ever refrained from its ulterior motives of
wrestling its influence on the Kashmir Valley. The blatant denial of the
Pakistani authorities in the face of the undisputed evidence provided by the
Indian Army further validates Indian anger. Is the prolific infiltration bid
another desperate attempt of the reviled Pakistan’s Army Chief Ashraq Parvez Kayani
due to retire? The Army chief is known for his dalliance to the trained
militants who are inimical to India.
India has to change its current strategy to fight back the
incursions. Sadly, the prevailing system of governance offers a bleak
possibility for any diplomatic breakthrough. Until country is headed by a
strong leader who is capable of taking the bull by its horns no progress can be
anticipated. Indian army is making rapid strides in containing the infiltration
bids across the LoC. Huge cache of arms and ammunition have been recovered from
the combing operations. At this juncture it is important to recall that Kargil war
started days after signing the Lahore Agreement in 1999 by Atal Behari Vajpayee
and Nawaz Sharif. Now the infiltrations have started 5 days before the
diplomatic talks between Manmohan Singh and Nawaz Sharif. "Operation Vijay" of Kargil War has
successfully checkmated the scrupulous plans of Pakistan and regained two posts along LoC. But now, with US deciding to pull back its forces from Afghanistan in 2014, India's western borders are set to be more volatile. Can India under
the leadership of Prime minister who succeeded in arousing the Indian masses
through his ineptitude be a match to the treacherous advances made by Pakistan
across the border?
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