Deteriorating ties

India has once again ramped up tensions with Pakistan, with its army chief General Bipin Rawat accusing Pakistan of sending terrorists into India through the Line of Control and saying that his country would not hesitate to call our nuclear bluff. Rawat’s irresponsible war-mongering, which has become typical of the Narendra Modi government, has been immediately condemned in Pakistan by the Senate and the DG of ISPR. The Indian general’s later statement – that India will need to solve the Kashmir issue – was seen by some as a softening of his stance, although the fact that he did not mention Pakistan in the context of Kashmir is notable. India has always maintained the pretence that Kashmir is an internal issue and there has been no change in that stance. Just how aggressive India is now becoming can be seen in the military deals concluded during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the country. Modi has specifically asked Netanyahu to invest more in India’s defence sector. The nexus between the two countries – both of which are international scofflaws illegally occupying territory – will only lower the chances of peace with Pakistan. India’s aggression can only be compounded now that it is allying itself so closely to Netanyahu – a man who never saw a Muslim-majority nation he didn’t advocate war against.

The rapid deterioration in ties between Pakistan and India, despite the PML-N coming into power and advocating for peace, has been accompanied by a similar trajectory in our relationship with the US. From the time of his campaign trail, Donald Trump had been an advocate for India, and the general trajectory the US has been on had already brought it closer to the Indians. Trump has faithfully repeated the India line on Pakistan’s supposed support for militant groups. In what may be seen as some damage control effort, US Acting Assistant Secretary for State Alice Wells became the first American to visit Pakistan after Trump tweeted threats about cutting off all aid – and then did cut some aid. Well’s meetings with Pakistani officials have been appropriately fraught. It seems we are now turning the tables on the US and demanding it do more to take on militant groups like the TTP which are based in Afghanistan and regularly carry out attacks on our soil. Pakistan has long maintained that India has used its considerable influence in Afghanistan to foment militancy in this country, and the US has always turned a blind eye to this. The Centcom chief did phone Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa a few days back and was conciliatory in acknowledging that we have suffered because of superpower wars in Afghanistan. Such words of understanding, though, hold little weight so long as the US and its Indian allies continue their aggressive posturing in both words and deed.