This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.
Pakistan’s Daily Times and India’s Hindu argue that the firing across the Line of Control should not be allowed to derail the peace process, for, they argue, it could be the handiwork of non-state actors keen to disrupt the India-Pakistan peace-process.
It could be.
It is always those non-state actors. They have been one common feature of Pakistani forward policy ever since ‘irregulars’ first invaded the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947. Similarly, it was non-state actors, this time termed the ‘mujahideen’, that fought against the Indian Army at Kargil in 1999. Non-state actors have become too much a part of Pakistani policy for them to be suddenly seen as independent actors with a will of their own. Even if it was the jihadi elements that are responsible, then it is only because of the Pakistani failure to stop them from getting there. When the jihadi infrastructure remains in place and the leaders of the jihadi movement remain free to carry out their business in Pakistan, attributing the cause of the firing to jihadis does not absolve the Pakistani army from the responsibility.
Musharraf’s conduct itself has no redeeming or mitigating features. Nothing in his actions before or after 9/11 suggests that he has completely renounced the jihadi option in Kashmir. So it stands to reason that he must be held accountable for what mischief they carry out — with or without his express permission.
If you would like to share or comment on this, please discuss it on my GitHub
Previous © Copyright 2003-2024. Nitin Pai. All Rights Reserved.