Pakistani falsities and firing undoing Ufa gains
Ideally, the only appropriate response to Pakistan's claim of downing an Indian ‘spy drone' should have been an Internet meme comparing it to the detention of a Pakistani ‘spy pigeon' by Indian authorities last month. Both stories are in the realm of the absurd, and the only purpose that they should be serving is that of offering some light-hearted entertainment to folks on both sides of the border.
Unfortunately, the drone story is now part of a bigger provocation package that includes repeated ceasefire violations which killed at least one Indian civilian, an attempted infiltration bid along the line of Control, and a recycled Pakistani allegation about an offensive Indian helicopter manoeuvre (that has long been clarified by India). Viewed together, these have effectively neutralised whatever ‘breakthroughs' may have been achieved at the Ufa meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif.
The atmosphere of positivity generated after that meeting in Russia had already been sullied after Pakistan backtracked on its 26/11 commitment, just two days after issuing a joint statement on the issue. Now, the situation has become worse. Officially, the meetings proposed at Ufa — between the national security advisors, military and para-military personnel — are still on track. But given this disruptive situation on the ground, it is difficult to imagine how they might lead to any real progress.
Moreover, for every one step that is taken towards peace and stability, Pakistan's attempts to drag both countries backwards by two steps, only exposes its regressive India strategy. Pakistan knows that it cannot afford a full-blown war with India, so it will keep having bilateral meetings and issuing promising joint statements. But when it comes to making improvements on the ground, it will do next to nothing. The Army will have the pot on a low-simmer, using the smoke to keep the Indian bogeyman alive.
And so it is that ceasefire violations along the loC continue unabated while ridiculous accusations are turned into major diplomatic debacles. In the first case, Indian authorities repeatedly reached out to their Pakistani counterparts — both on the frontlines and in the national capitals — but to no avail. After warnings were delivered through diplomatic channels, Indian soldiers eventually resorted to strong retaliatory fire. In the second case, the Pakistan Foreign Office raised the drone issue with serious allegations of not just espionage but also the violation of Pakistani airspace.
This prompted the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to clarify that a photograph of the drone shows that the unmanned aerial vehicle is neither of Indian design nor belonging to any category of UAVs held by the Indian Armed Forces. The MEA also added that the drone was of Chinese make, and could be bought off the shelf. later, the Chinese manufacturer of the downed drone added that while that particular drone model could take photographs, it’s designed for wedding photography and film-making at best — not military surveillance. One of the authorised Indian dealers of the drone even dismissed the UAV as a “toy”. The entire episode would have been laughable, had it not been so utterly tragic — and a biting commentary on Pakistan's nefarious India policy.