Tags:
Journalism of Courage
In his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has risen above the rapidly degenerating Indian public discourse with Pakistan. Over the last few days, our foreign office has reacted, in a knee-jerk manner, to every Pakistani statement on the unfortunate situation in Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi8217;s rhetoric will have no consequence other than delighting India8217;s adversaries in Pakistan. The daily blather on Pakistan takes us back to the bad old days, when South Block used to think issuing statements was one half of diplomacy. The rest was about posturing for the benefit of domestic audiences.
India8217;s current problem is not with the words emanating from Pakistan. It is far deeper. Well before New Delhi and Srinagar made a mess of the Amarnath land issue, the Pakistan army and its intelligence arm, the ISI, were signalling their determination to wreck the peace process. If the Pak army repeatedly violated the ceasefire on the Line of Control, the ISI has stepped up its support to cross-border terrorism and, as has been alleged by the United States, plotted the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul. In the face of all this, Pakistan8217;s civilian leaders seemed utterly helpless. Equally significant has been the Pak army8217;s decision to revive tensions with India when it is losing control of its western borders amidst the escalating war between the US and NATO forces on the one hand and the Taliban, al Qaida and their allies in the tribal belt on the other.
