The love affair with Imran Khan is over, It's back to business in Kashmir
By Mehtab Karan Singh
The terror machinery operating from Pakistan has reactivated itself in a big way. The big words that he spoke of taking two steps forward if India takes one have proved to be just that – words. He has done nothing whatsoever to curb his wayward army and its nefarious arm of fundamentalist militants who keep the pot of terror boiling in Jammu and Kashmir.
The last few days have witnessed a spike in terrorist activity. Infiltration attempts have gained momentum. The terrorist cadre operating in the state has, very obviously, been directed to come out, intimidate the people and dissuade them from participating in the upcoming Urban Local Bodies and Panchayat Elections.
The Indian security forces have given a befitting reply by eliminating nearly a dozen terrorists across the state in the last week or so. Most of the terrorists eliminated were of foreign origin and part of Pakistan based terror organizations like the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). This is a clear indictment of Pakistan’s continuing role in fanning the fires of terrorism in Kashmir under Imran Khan.
This has not come as a surprise for those who study Pakistan deeply, nothing better was expected! The aforementioned development is an indicator of Pakistan’s determination to continue with its evil designs, despite the massive setback that its terror machinery in Kashmir has faced all through the years 2017 and 2018.
Human life, quite obviously, holds no value for these harbingers of terror. While indoctrinating their own uneducated youth towards the path of terror and sure death, the terror machinery continues to maintain its objective of getting as many Kashmiri recruits into the terror fold as is possible.
They have no compunction in leading able young men onto the self-destructive path of terrorism so long it serves as it helps keep their hybrid war against India going. These boys, basically untrained novices, soon come into the security dragnet, security forces give them the option to surrender and even plead to them to do so but most do not relent and are finally and most unfortunately eliminated. The resistance to counter-terrorist operations by the local people is more with the intention of attempting to save those who are caught in the dragnet than any other ideological reason. Here too it is the common man who suffers from civilian deaths also reported every now and then.
The misfortune is that the Kashmiri people are not seeing through Pakistan’s designs and are allowing their young boys to be misled. The numbers, of course, are few but they are enough to keep the specter of terrorism alive in the Kashmir Valley and that is exactly what Pakistan wants.
The sustained attacks on India’s security and integrity have led to a sense of disquiet across the country. More and more people have taken to social media and other forums to express anguish about the terrible loss of life that our armed forces and other security forces are absorbing due to the evil acts of the neighboring country. The humiliation that our soldiers, Police and paramilitary personnel have to face in the hands of the stone-pelters, paid by stooges of foreign powers, is also causing deep-rooted frustration and anger among the Indian masses.
There exists an urgent need to carry out a course correction of the policy adopted to rein in Imran Khan’s Pakistan. India has to give out a strong and clear message that continued interference in her internal affairs is simply not acceptable. The very least that needs to be done and that too immediately is severing of diplomatic ties, cutting in the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status and a rethink on agreements like the Indus Water Treaty.