Burning boats

Even in the maelstrom that is Pakistan-India relations, the saga of the ‘terror’ boat last December is exceptionally bizarre. The boat was blown up, killing all four on board, after it allegedly entered Indian waters. India said the people on the boat blew themselves up and accused them of being militants. The Indian accusation was taken at face value by many in the international community since the memories of 26/11 when militants entered India by sea was still fresh in everyone’s minds. Pakistan, however, maintained that the boat was destroyed by Indian authorities. It now appears that we were correct all along. The deputy inspector general of the Indian Coast Guard was caught on tape admitting he ordered the attack on the boat. He made these remarks at a private speech, flippantly adding that he was not about to serve biryani to the people on the boat. The Indian defence ministry is still claiming the country had nothing to do with blowing up the boat but its denials can no longer be believed. An international investigation needs to be held to determine the truth of the matter, especially to determine if the official acted on his own – in which case he is guilty of a serious crime – or if it was done on the orders of the Indian government.
Any investigation should keep in mind how easy it is to unknowingly cross the maritime border. Every year hundreds of fishermen are arrested by both countries for straying into the wrong territory. They are then held for years in inhumane conditions. Instead of aggressively going after innocent individuals, both countries need to show restraint. India, for example, should have tried to make contact with the boat and, if that failed, fired warning shots at the most. It could also have tried to capture the members of the boat and established their identities. Instead it immediately assumed the worst and blew up the boat. This naked act of aggression cannot go unpunished. Just imagine the furore that would have been caused had Pakistan been the one blowing up an Indian boat. That this took place with the government of Narendra Modi in charge is hardly surprising. His violent anti-Pakistan rhetoric has set the tone throughout every level of government and Indian officials feel emboldened to go after us at any opportunity, knowing the government will approve and never take any action against them. As long as this attitude prevails there is no chance for peace.