What do we do with Pakistan, when it continues to provoke us? India has carried out a surgical strike but doesn’t, and shouldn’t, want a full blown war. There are two main reasons: One, we Indians at our core are not violent people. The second big one is the nuclear threat, from a place where nobody knows who is in charge.  Hence, the best strategy the world adopts is to leave them alone. India, however, does not have the luxury of leaving Pakistan alone. Terrorism is their foreign policy.  What are we to do? Avoid cricket? Wish their toothless PM on his birthday? Do people- to-people exchange? Well, none of the above works.  Here is a plan that may work (without firing a bullet)...

Declare Pakistan a failed state: We, as a nation, officially decide that Pakistan is a failed state. It is not even a nation, but a terrorist territory armed with nuclear bombs — the most dangerous combination for world peace today. This is the narrative we communicate to the world. Pak is IS-2, where the government no longer controls the state.

Cut-off diplomatic ties: There is no need for a sprawling Pak consulate at Chanakyapuri in New Delhi. Why are we giving it space in our capital? As a base for its terrorist missions? Is there an IS consulate? Worse, there are parties held at the Pak consulate that our ministers attend. Do you really expect the world to have sympathy for us after that?

India-Pak is not a family feud: The romanticised notion that India-Pak is a family feud has to end. The world doesn’t have time to look at the details. If they see India and Pak fight, but all the bhai-chaara on the side, they get confused. They will dismiss this as a fight between friends. Pak people may be nice. It’s the The Random Bunch of People Who Control Pakistan (RBPWCP) who are the biggest threat to the world. 

Highlight India’s sufferings: We book ads, as we do for Incredible India campaigns, in leading world publications. In a simple manner, we explain what India has to suffer. We explain how India bears the brunt of terrorism.The world needs to know what the RGPWCP are doing. Only then will we have global support.

Give asylum to artistes: We don’t have to ban artistes. Art transcends nationality and talent should always be welcome. However, we can offer (not coercively) an asylum programme for Pak artistes and their families, especially to those who speak up against terrorism and fear retribution. Even if half a dozen artistes take it up, we can tell the world how artistes are escaping Pakistan and coming to India. Also, we cannot force any artist to say things, but it is fair to try and use them as ambassadors to tell the world what India goes through. 

(Excerpts from Chetan Bhagat’s  opinion piece in TOI edit)

The aftermath of India’s surgical strikes, a timeline

October 3, 2016: 

• Pak troops resorted to mortar shelling at Shahpur on Indian side of the LoC in Poonch district 
• Terrorists launched attack near a camp of the 46 Rashtriya Rifles in Baramulla

October 2, 2016:

• Pak troops launched firing and shelling on forward areas along the LoC in Pallanwala sector of Jammu 

September 30, 2016:

• Pak troops resorted to mortar shelling along the LoC in Pallanwalla sector of Akhnoor, J&K 

Pak’s response in the future

• The Baramulla attack on Sunday, which left a BSF soldier dead, has strengthened the suspicion that Pakistan’s response to India’s surgical strikes may come not in the form of military aggression but through more terror attacks in the Valley and other places nWhile claiming to have behaved responsibly by not taking military action against India’s “cross-LoC firing”, Pak army may use such terror strikes by LeT and JeM jihadis to fuel the perception that Kashmir needs international attention nIts decision to take Islamabad-based foreign media to the LoC is being seen as part of this strategy. In fact, it will most likely be seen by Islamabad as early gains in its attempts to convince Pakistanis that Indian troops never crossed the LoC  
• Ironically, Pak’s denial of cross-LoC strikes also suits India as it precludes any military escalation in the immediate run

Do You Agree With The Author? Is That The Only Way To Deal With Our Neighbours? Do You Think The Surgical Strikes At LOC Were Need Of The Hour? Tell Us In The Comments Below