India has finally dumped self-hurting restraint
The surgical strike by the Indian Armed Forces on terror launch pads across the line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has firmly established two points. The first is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of ‘punishment' to the Uri attackers wasn't an empty boast — he has walked the talk. The second is that the Indian military has the capability — contrary to what doubting Thomases, including some ‘defence experts', had held — to conduct precision attacks in enemy territory. The late night assault was the first of its kind officially owned by India since independence. Border lines have been crossed before, outside of conventional wars, but not as deep as this time around. From all accounts, the strike has been a remarkable success. The Indian forces eliminated 35-40 terrorists and some nine Pakistan Army personnel. Knowing the deep links terrorists in Pakistan have with the Army there, it shouldn't surprise anybody that Army men were lurking in and around the terrorist camps in PoK. Praise for success goes, without doubt, to our brave soldiers who undertook this hazardous mission, driven by the desire to inflict costs on an enemy that is determined to bleed Indian with a ‘thousand cuts'. That each of them returned unharmed adds to the happiness. But credit also goes to the Modi-led NDA Government for shaking off the passivist mindset which had exposed the nation to ridicule over the decades. Whether it was the attack on Parliament or the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, India had for some reason refrained from retaliation — although it had both the moral and the military might to do so. Part of the reason was self-doubt: Will we succeedIJ Will we be able to garner international opinion in our favourIJ Will we be able to handle a counter-response from PakistanIJ And part of it was pressure from well-wishers and friends from the international community, who advised restraint. Prime Minister Modi shrugged off apprehensions and ordered the strike.
Admittedly, 2016 is not 2001 or 2008. Unlike in those years, Pakistan is today isolated both regionally and globally. The withdrawal of five nations including India from the Saarc summit which was to be held in Islamabad, the stony silence which greeted Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's raking of the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly recently, and the running out of patience of countries like the US which have assiduously funded Pakistan, are evident of that isolation. Islamabad has no takers, with the exception of China. And yet, this golden opportunity could have easily gone waste had the Indian Government not acted.
The strike is a major embarrassment for Pakistan, and especially for its Army chief, General Raheel Sharif, who is due to retire shortly.The shock is such that Islamabad refuses to admit it has been hit by an Indian limited strike in a territory it holds by force. Nobody in India and elsewhere in the world is going to be fooled by this denial. Having taken such a bold and unprecedented step, India must now remain on alert to foil any desperate response which Pakistan will surely attempt. Meanwhile, it must continue to pursue other options to squeeze Islamabad until the rogue nation learns a lesson.