Even as the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre has invoked mass support by calling upon world leaders to isolate Pakistan for encouraging militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir, is the Government led by an 'unfazed' BJP in right earnest to resolve the crisis? The answer is unlikely to be in the affirmative.
There are enough reasons to cast aspersions about seriousness of the Government that has not only concluded the high-powered meeting on security on a non-serious note on Wednesday, but preferred to prioritize populist agendas - that reportedly does not include the Kashmir crisis nor is there a proposal to discuss strategies to deal with Pakistan - by convening 3-day long BJP National Council meet at Kozhikode or Calicut in Kerala from September 23 to September 25, leaving the country in a fluid situation. None other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the meet on September 24 and 25.
These ostensibly callous neglects on the part of the Government are, however, potent enough to provide two veiled indications in particular about a few concealed resolutions: first, in view of the mutual fear of the consequent sinister implications that both the countries - India and Pakistan - are faced with, the Government is confident enough to ward off the possible threat of war; and, second, the Government is supposed to be working out multi-pronged strategies to stop infiltration and funding from across the border by revisiting the security measures along the border.
Both the countries are believed to be mutually distancing themselves from war in the light of the fact that any such move would deal a major blow to the Government kitties. Apart from economic reasons, the three groups in Pakistan - the political setup that include the elected Government, the Army and radical forces that work in tandem with the army - have their own reservations to go to the war. If the elected Government cannot afford to bear a huge expenditure on war, the Army is all set to cash-in on the situation by projecting itself as the sole protector and keeping the Government in particular and the people in general entirely dependent on it for protection during any possible eventuality until war is declared and all this while radical forces enjoy their freedom under the prodding from the Army to gain political and economic mileage as well.
If strategists privy to the Union Cabinet and the BJP high-command are to be believed, the Government in India is contemplating major diplomatic moves to deal with the situation. The Government has reportedly resolved to evade a direct confrontation with Pakistan and initiate strategic moves to cripple separatist groups instead. The Government aims to expose Pakistan at the ensuing SAARC summit in Islamabad and Murree on November 9 and 10.
Working on intelligence inputs, the Government is likely to put an embargo on free trade between India and Pakistan through one of the three routes in order to destroy the financial strength of the radical forces. Truckloads ferried through the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route are suspected to be facilitating the separatist groups in J&K. Cash that exchanges hands in the garb of trade between India and Pakistan through the Srinagar- Muzaffarabad route is presumably meant to facilitate radical forces to hire groups involved in stone-pelting activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Government has intelligence inputs that a mischievous modus operandi is followed to lend financial support to separatists of J&K with the kickbacks received in lieu of the trade through the Muzaffarabad route. The payments made on delivery of truckloads at Muzaffarabad at POK in Pakistan are spent partially - albeit issuing inflated invoices to deceive the authorities concerned - on the purchase of goods for return-trade from Muzaffarabad to Srinagar and the remaining amount is meant to hire youths to hurl stones on security forces in J&K time and again.
The radical groups that supply youths to hurl stones are said to charge between Rs. 2000 and Rs 2500 per youth for supplying 200 to 300 youths. The Government has reportedly come out with the decision to foil such unscrupulous activities from across the border. At a recent high-powered intelligence briefing to the Prime Minister, it transpired that if such funding to the radical forces were stopped, anti-national activities along the India-Pakistan border could be marginalized.
The country, however, is not aware of the outcome of these high-level secret parleys and that of the truth at the border. People remain in the reign of terror amid war-like situation. At this juncture, the ploy behind holding the National Council meet by the BJP far away from New Delhi in Kerala - that is to be attended by the Prime Minister along with Central ministers, party MPs and Chief Ministers from the BJP-ruled States - raises many questions. Well-placed sources in the Government expressed concerns that if a situation warranted holding emergency cabinet meetings at the Centre and if the President's assent was required for actions to declare a State of Emergency, the Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues would require about four hours to fly back to New Delhi from the meeting venue at Kozhikode in Kerala.
To top it all, the possible criticism by the opposition for such non-serious acts by the Prime Minister to remain out of the Centre is a foregone conclusion and it may have adverse impact on the credentials of the Government while persuading the world leaders at the SAARC summit in particular to lend their voice to India's concern for abetting a war-like situation in the country by Pakistan.
BW Reporters
D.P. Sharan has been a journalist for the past 30 years and has served many national dailies, magazines and channels. He has also been a member at the Central Board of Film Certification, Mumbai under I&B Ministry, Government of India
