Open Forum

New Delhi,14 May 2025

End of Indo-Pak Conflict

NEED TO CONTAIN TERRORISM

By Dhurjati Mukherjee 

The continuing hostilities between India and Pakistan do not augur well for either of the two countries. Destruction and violence affect the common man and affect normalcy in both countries. As such, the decision to stop all hostilities and military action from the evening of May 10 is a positive action, more so as the proposal came from Pakistan and India readily agreed to it. 

It is a well-known fact that Pakistan has been facing a severe financial crisis and the war-like situation leads to severe strain in its economy as precious resources are lost. Similarly, It had approached the IMF several times for a bail-out of its economic situation. In fact, India opposed the last tranche of $1 billion from the IMF to Pakistan. India is also affected, as any emerging economy like ours needsnumerous resources for developmental purposes. In all probability it paid of price for supporting terrorists. 

The need for tackling terrorism and violence is no doubt imperative. But unfortunately, terrorism has been on the increase in various parts of the world and specially in the Indo-Pak region. It is indeed surprising that the killing of Hindu terrorists speaks very badly of Pakistan’s intentions, and it is clear sign that the country has been directly supporting Islamic fundamentalism. But the question arises whether that helps the country, in any way. India is too big with strong economic fundamentals for Pakistan to do any harm to this country. In fact, after the killings, it is quite natural that animosity and hatred towards Muslims may increase in this country, which is not desirable in a healthy society. 

After the killing of Hindu tourists, the UN Security Council had underlined the need to bring perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack, which was undoubtedly barbaric, to justice to deter more such attacks on Indian soil by Pakistan terrorists. Thus, the Indian government carried out ‘Operation Sindoor’ to defang Pakistan’s terror factory with military strikes on LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) headquarters in PoK. It is understood that the nine targets selected initially were in PoK and in the Punjab region were terror holding, and training facilities and launchpads exist. Over the years and even after the Pahalgam incident, there was no demonstrable step by the Pakistan government to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in the country. 

Pakistan de facto ruler, Gen. AsimMunir had sometime back invoked the two-nation theory that Hindus and Muslims constitute separate civilisations but, unlike Jinnah who used it as a political tool within a specific historical context, Munir reignited ideological hostility and re-embraced proxy warfare. His doctrine serves a clear political purpose – it shores up military dominance amid a deepening polycrisis. Confronted with a failing economy, multiple insurgencies and a jailed yet widely popular Imran Khan, Munir has chosen military theatrics over reform. 

It goes without saying that the Munir doctrine is shortsighted and has no logic other than creating tensions between India and Pakistan. Philosophers all over the world have contended that no religion talks of animosity, not to speak of annihilation and killing, of those belonging to other religions.  Thus, what Pakistan has been doing in the name of Islam is totally unfounded. 

Some political analysts have contended that by calling the retaliation ‘Operation Sindoor’, India may have reinforced Gen. Munir’s view of a cultural-communal divide. If the Pahalgam killers abused the Kalima to butcher Hindu men, ‘sindoor’, the exclusive auspicious symbol for married Hindu women is also abused. 

It may be pertinent to mention here that the Indian situation resembles that of Israel which also battles terror from Gaza, the West Bank and the northern border with Iran backing Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. In both cases, the terror groups serve the tentacles of a broader enemy – Iran in Israel’s case and Pakistan in India’s. The shared experience of religious hatred has brought the two countries together based on a shared truth that is, the confrontation is  between free societies and murderous fanatics. 

Though hostilities have stopped, which is a positive achievement for both countries, the next step would be to persuade Pakistan to stop terrorism. Too much bitterness lies between India and Pakistan and it is good to bring them to the negotiating table and reach a settlement towards sustained normalcy. 

While on the one hand, this would help develop close neighbourly relations and this would translate to increased trade and commerce, beneficial for both countries. Also it is an established fact that no religion in the world talks of violence and animosity and thus in either country, their respective religions may be respected but no propaganda initiated to prove that their religion is the best, In fact, Swami Vivekananda’s message of religious unity, propounded way back at the Chicago conference, should be disseminated widely.   

Another important point that needs to be stated is the rather unfortunate state of affairs in Pakistan with the army having complete stranglehold on the polity and an institutional interest in sustaining an adversarial posture against India. If the political leadership had not given the military an upper hand, possibly the relations between the two countries would not have reached such a low ebb. How and when the political leadership in Pakistan would be in full control remains to be seen as this would be the key to better relations between the two countries. 

Leaders associated with several voluntary organizations have been harping the need for an amicable and early solution and restoring mutual trust between the two countries. These leaders demanded that common people should not be punished for inhumane acts of terrorists. “It is very important for the governments to treat common people differently from terrorists. Politicians and media in both the countries should also refrain from inciting hatred,” stated Ramesh Yadav, president, Folklore Research Academy, Amritsar. 

Similarly, another important suggestion that emerged has been that both the countries should sign another new agreement regarding not allowing any terrorist organization to use their respective lands and resolve all bilateral issues through peaceful negotiations,” by Satnam Singh Manak, general secretary, Hindu-Pakistan Friendship Forum. 

Though there were reports of firing along the LoC even after the deadline of May 10, it is expected that all this will come to an end and Pakistan will not violate its own initiative to end all sorts of military action. It needs to be reiterated that peace and friendly relations between the two countries is imperative for the prosperity of the South Asian region as a whole. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)