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Thursday March 28, 2024

Indian Army won’t talk but act: Modi

By Mariana Baabar
September 26, 2016

NEW DELHI: Reiterating that those behind the Uri attack will definitely get punished, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Indian armed forces will not talk, but act.

Opening his monthly “Mann Ki Baat” radio programme, Modi said the perpetrators of the attack will not be spared. He said the nation has full trust in the Indian Army, which is prepared to show its valour by its action.

“We are proud of our army. There may be numerous occasions for citizens and political leaders to speak and open their mind. But army does not speak. Army shows its valour through its actions,” he said.Turning to Kashmir, the Indian prime minister said people of the state are becoming aware of the anti-national and divisive forces.

Modi expressed his confidence that all the issues will be resolved through dialogue. He said everyone wants normalcy to prevail in Kashmir and go back to their day-to-day activities.Talking about the responsibility for security forces, Modi said they should use all their resources and force to secure the people and maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, Pakistan in a statement said it was unfortunate that the Indian leadership continues to indulge in a well-thought-out vilification campaign against Pakistan by making provocative statements and baseless accusations.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in an address in Kerala on Saturday vowed to isolate Pakistan internationally as a ‘terrorist’ state.“These statements at the highest level (from India) are regrettable,” said the spokesman at the Foreign Office, after the ministry spent several hours to frame a well-thought-out reply to the comments made at the level of a prime minister.

The spokesman said Pakistan is fully capable of its defence.Suddenly, Modi appears to have no place to hide as he diverted from ‘war threats’ after he was briefed by his security establishment, and instead country’s poverty alleviation, which is a positive and healthy development for the economically challenged masses.

The unkindest cut came from The Economist which commented that the Indian army has no 'brain'. Pakistan meanwhile, continues on the path of Mission Kashmir, refusing to be side-tracked by calls from Modi to “internationally isolate Pakistan”, at a time when its former ally, Russia, is here training with the Pakistan Army, showcasing Pakistan’s expertise to fight militancy and terrorism, and the British army chief dedicating the world’s best commander title to General Raheel Sharif.

As Kashmiri coffins, like that of young Wasim Ahmad Lone, are wrapped in Pakistan’s green and white crescent and star, the state-run radio reported that in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK), curfew and restrictions remained in force in Kashmir and Chenab Valley in Jammu region for the 79th straight day, on Sunday, to prevent freedom march in Srinagar, Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian and Islamabad districts.

Call for the march was given by joint Hurriyet leadership, where a large number of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in strength in the entire Kashmir Valley including Srinagar to prevent the march.

The curfew continued in Kishtwar town, on Sunday, to quell protests against the arrest of people including two imams in the town.

Spokesman at the Foreign Office monitoring the situation inside the valley added, “It is evident that, as an act of desperation, India is trying to distract world attention from the atrocities perpetrated by its occupation forces in IHK against innocent and defenceless Kashmiris, including children and women. These atrocities have intensified since the extra-judicial killing of Kashmiri youth leader Burhan Muzaffar Wani in July this year. In the last 75 days, Indian occupation forces have brutally martyred more than 100 Kashmiris, blinded hundreds and injured thousands.”

Modi’s boast of 56 inches chest size appears to be shrinking as his political rival, BSP chief Mayawati, took a dig at her prime minister saying, “It is Modi’s failure that he could not prevent the Uri terrorist attack. People expect concrete assurance and effective action from PM to check recurrence of such an incident. He should introspect the working of his own government, though it is good to advise his Pakistani counterpart.”

As several world capitals and the UN demanded of India to be allowed access into IHK to assess for themselves the situation which has reached a point of no return, questions have arisen of India being the only democracy in the world which boasts of ‘mass graves’ uncovered by a Dutch NGO.

The spokesman pointed out, “The international community has taken notice of these blatant human rights violations, with concerns expressed by several countries as well as UN and OIC. There are increasing demands of independent investigations and fact finding missions to be sent to IHK.”

Not too many years back, the late and highly respected Indian high commissioner Jyotindra Nath Dixit who had served in Pakistan and earlier in 1987 in Colombo, had confided that he regularly sat in cabinet meetings there. He admitted with great confidence that New Delhi makes and breaks prime ministers in Colombo and Kathmandu.

“While India has cast aspersions on Pakistan, it continues to sponsor terrorism in Pakistan directly through its state apparatus. The arrest and confession statements of a serving Indian navy officer and intelligence operative Kulbhushan Yadav reveal beyond a shadow of doubt as to how India fuels terrorist activities in various parts of Pakistan, including Balochistan and Fata”, added the spokesman, as India tried to write a new chapter in its interference in neighbouring states.

Modi on a visit to Dhaka had been quoted by the Indian and Bangladeshi media, saying that “Narendra Modi recalled his participation in the Jana Sangh campaign backing the rebels in former East Pakistan as he accepted a ‘liberation war’ honour on behalf of former premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee.”

So after Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Maldives, which is the next neighbour that New Delhi will poke its nose in? APP adds: Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul Basit ruled out the notion of Pakistan and India going to war.

He said he strongly believes Pakistan and India do not gain anything from creating hype. “War is not a solution, it creates more problems. We can perhaps afford not to talk to each other for some time but addressing our many bilateral, regional and global challenges can only happen through dialogue,” the high commissioner said in an interview with Telegraph India, an Indian English daily.

“We should not allow war hysteria to dominate our narrative,” said the high commissioner. He said investigation was yet going on to determine what really happened in Uri so it was important not to draw premature conclusions. He said it is not helpful to jump the gun. He said Pakistan had extended all-out cooperation after Pathankot incident and things were moving in the right direction.

“Both the countries could prevent the situation from worsening if the spirit was maintained. I am a diplomat and I would like diplomacy to win. I for once would not like to believe that bilateral diplomacy has exhausted itself,” Abdul Basit remarked, recalling Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s remarks at UN General Assembly that Pakistan desired to have a normal cooperative relationship with India and resolve all problems peacefully.

He said Pakistan believed that issues should be resolved only through peaceful means and there is no other way. The high commissioner viewed that Pakistan and India were on right track till July 8 when Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Wani was killed by security forces in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK).

To a question, he categorically made it clear that Pakistan had nothing to do with the Uri attack as it was committed to not allowing its territory to be used for violence anywhere in the world. He said problems in Indo-Pak ties did not begin with the Mumbai attack, Pathankot or Uri attacks, rather they fought three wars besides a military conflict over Kargil.

“But both countries agreed that there was a long pending issue of Jammu and Kashmir needing resolution. Be it UN Security Council Resolutions or even the Simla Accord both countries agreed on resolving this problem through dialogue,” he added. He said it is important to understand what keeps bedevilling our relationship and what keeps bringing mistrust between us. “We feel it is imperative not to shy away from addressing the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” the high commissioner said.

He said terrorism was an important challenge for both countries that could be met more effectively if they cooperate rather than blame each other all the time. He said diplomacy could not be conducted through verbosity. “Diplomacy has to be conducted on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect and understanding,” he added.