In another day or so, the outrage across social media platforms would move on to something else. The families of the 17 (or 18?) soldiers killed in a terror attack will perhaps be the only ones with a lifetime of regrets and memories. For two days, we have witnessed the predictable: on the one side are "nationalists" who are conducting opinion polls on Twitter about the viability of India engaging in a nuclear war with Pakistan to "teach it a lesson". Yes, people are actually discussing an exchange of nuclear weapons as if they are discussing the exchange of repartees and barbs on TV debates. At the other end of the spectrum are perpetual "peaceniks" who go on bleating that India must act in a restrained and mature manner to these provocations. Some even act delusional by suggesting that a political solution to the "core" problem of Kashmir would bring about an end to terror attacks actively funded and encouraged by the Pakistani Deep State.
For the moment, it looks as if the far too predictable theatrics will played out at the United Nations. Perhaps the only difference this time around is that Pakistan does appear isolated and it does face searching questions about its human rights track record in Balochistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. But that would be just a diplomatic victory for India; it is not going to stop Pakistan from continuing or even accelerating its decades old policy of inflicting a thousand cuts. Why should the Pakistan military abandon this policy when it has been so successful for 30 years and when it simply has paid no price at all?
As TV debate and social media warriors froth at the mouth and as peaceniks write about the inherent goodwill of the average Pakistani, some more sophisticated analysts-both from the Left and the Right-claim that India is once again committing a blunder by depending on big powers like the United States to stop a renegade rogue state called Pakistan from exporting terror. The Left of course thinks Uncle Sam is evil personified (unless it is a petition to stop Narendra Modi from entering America for alleged "human rights" violations!). The Right thinks that the United States will use India as a "client state" against China and then discard it.
In all this anger at America, and other major powers who seem to do nothing to stop Pakistan, we ted to forget one thing: What has India done to stop Pakistan? Since the days of the late Zia Ul Haq, it has been as clear as daylight that the Pakistan military and the notorious ISI is using "proxies" to wage Jihad on India. Have we even taken first steps to treat Pakistan as an enemy state? Remember, we are talking about the state; not the people. What steps has India taken over thirty years to invest so heavily in military hardware that the Pakistani state would go bankrupt trying to play catch up? Remember; India's GDP is almost ten times that of Pakistan. Have we seriously considered cutting off all diplomatic, cultural, economic and sporting ties? Worldwide, nation states routinely do it with countries they think are behaving as enemies. How will the world believe India is serious when a large section of the country revels in "cultural ties"? Frankly, India has done nothing worthwhile by way of either gestures or actions to persuade global powers that it considers Pakistan to be a deadly enemy and an existential threat.
Lets build a consensus on taking that first big step: publicly recognize the Pakistani state as an enemy. Once we do that, it just become easier for policy makers and strategists to draw up and execute a coherent and long term Pakistan policy.
