Spitting venom

On Wednesday, the Indian army conducted a cross-border operation into Myanmar to target separatist insurgents in the Manipur area. This small operation in Myanmar, which was conducted with full cooperation of the Myanmar government, has contributed to widening the diplomatic fissure between Pakistan and India. Following the operation, a lesser known BJP minister provoked Pakistan by claiming that India would conduct such operations against perceived threats whenever and wherever it deemed fit. The statement went against the fact that the Myanmar government had approved the raid and that India is way behind the US in terms of its ability to conduct war on an international or even regional scale. The same week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reopened old wounds by boasting about India’s role in the breakup of Pakistan. In the same speech, and in his other statements, Modi has consistently attacked Pakistan. The reason for escalating the rhetoric on Pakistan is that the right-wing nationalist BJP government is failing to live up to any of its promises with separatist movements in India still beyond the control of the government. Bad mouthing Pakistan is a sure way of remaining in power by drawing on their mistaken nationalism.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif and Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz have responded to the escalating rhetoric. While Nisar responded in kind by warning that India should not mistake Pakistan for Myanmar, Sartaj Aziz has rightly pointed out that Modi’s comments pointed to the shrinking constituency for peace. The verbal rhetoric has been compounded by the fact that an official in the Pakistani embassy in New Dehli was denied a visa, with Indian government sources claiming he had links with the Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The mention of the LeT is a reminder that the recent tensions between India and Pakistan began after LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, accused of masterminding the Mumbai attacks, was granted bail in Pakistan. India has linked the restoration of peace talks to charging Lakhvi. However, if it sincerely wants peace talks and the trial of Lakhvi, then the worst strategy possible is to engage in public bickering. The mild good news is that Pakistani high commission officials met Indian diplomats after the public exchange to voice their concerns. The days when the two countries were negotiating relaxed visa regimes and most favoured nation status are over. Things look like they will get worse before they get better. Sanity must prevail.