India's dangerous diversion: a call for global accountability

Business Recorder

25-04-2025

It took the British a century to colonize the Subcontinent, but for Babur it was one decisive battle at Panipat that had changed the game. This comparison is not meant to highlight Babur's efficiency or the British's long-term planning and vision, but rather to emphasize that this land, with its rich soil, towering mountains, and gushing rivers, has always been coveted by foreign powers seeking control for vested interests.
1947 created a new geography, and momentary disruptions eventually faded into an emotionally uniform and economically diverse land that now comprises three political entities. However, the last decade of 'Modi sarkar' has eclectically selected the seeds of conflict from across a millennium and put them together in a rather shallow and biased narrative that only promises continuous upheaval of emotions and ruination of the land and its people at large; it also plays into vested interests in the 'divide.'
Baseless accusations, false propagandas, insinuations, and fake stories, propagated by the Indian government and segments of its media, have been accorded prime time. False narratives have been weaved to justify horrendous violations of human rights, and just when Pakistan's narrative takes the bend towards a progressive regional economy, yet another staged drama has surfaced. Though consistent with India's long-standing pattern of deflecting blame onto Pakistan without presenting credible evidence, this time it has gone too far.
Pakistan has unequivocally condemned the tragic killing of tourists in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan observes Kashmir Day, marking February 5th of each year as a day where usurpation and violations in the pristine Kashmir are condemned. But India's (obviously deliberate) knee-jerk response is neither responsible nor constructive. Upheavals are a staple in newsrooms, but India has taken it to another level.
How about making a few facts noticed: the weapon used in the recent Jaffar Express attack in Balochistan matches the one employed in the Kashmir incident. This disturbing similarity raises serious questions that demand an impartial international investigation. Only a week ago, Pakistani security forces apprehended an individual near the Balochistan border under circumstances strikingly similar to the Kulbhushan Jadhav case. This cannot be dismissed as a coincidence.
It is no secret that India continues to provide refuge and support to Baloch separatists, some of whom are directly linked to recent acts of terrorism in Pakistan. The role of Indian consulates in Afghanistan in financing and facilitating terrorism in Pakistan is well-documented. Elements involved in waging war against the Pakistani state have repeatedly been traced back to Indian intelligence operations.
Prime Minister Modi's government has systematically eroded the democratic fabric of the world's largest democracy or at least called so. Minorities are facing unprecedented persecution, and freedom of speech has been stifled. The grim reality today is that renowned Indian intellectuals, journalists, and dissenters live in fear, unable to express their views freely. Journalists that we idealized have stopped writing and speakers we looked up to have stopped talking.
An insight into probable triggers for such rash behavior gives us a string of setbacks for the Modi sarkar:
Political change in Bangladesh, with the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government.
Escalating internal unrest in Nagaland and Manipur.
Ongoing border disputes with Nepal and Bhutan.
Rising international embarrassment over deportations of Indian citizens from the United States.
In the face of mounting diplomatic and internal challenges, opening a front with Pakistan appears to be a diversionary tactic aimed at domestic consolidation and political optics. As Bertrand Russell stated in one of his 'Unpopular Essays' that the only way the world will ever fully unite is if there is an alien invasion.
. It takes a common enemy to become friends. It is time to recognize the common enemy; it is most definitely not Pakistan! It is actually the narrative that India wishes to propagate because India thrives with a compromised Pakistan.
Instead of fixing what is broken, the Modi government is hell bent on opening one more front – a unilateral move to revoke the Indus Waters Treaty – a vital and binding international agreement – a reckless violation of international law. Are we going to behave like classroom bullies? The world has moved on to see brilliant regional co-operations and a united concern for a planet that seems to be angry and upset. Earthquakes, floods, droughts, pandemics, pollution – literacy and health gaps, and an unpredictable future confront us all. It is time for all nations to come together to ensure that we leave a live able green planet for our future generations. But then we have the Modi approach that insists on a dare for duel. Winters are not too far, and Delhi and Amritsar stand ready to be clogged with smog – a stagnant, thick, irritating, and smoky monster that spreads its tentacles across Punjab and takes our Lahore in its fold too. The smog chokes you, damages your lungs, but insists on hugging you from all around. So genuinely like the Modi tactics that insist on endangering regional peace, stability, and progressive future at the cost of all that is precious and for the gain of absolutely nothing.
Pakistan has come through a great deal and is only interested in dignified regional peace, collaboration, and cooperation. Nevertheless, the nuclear armed country of 250 million stands together behind its uniformed soldiers and will not shy away from taking a stance. But my concern is 'why deploy armies and weapons when words can work much better?'
I emphatically call upon the United Nations Security Council and the global community to take urgent notice of these developments with a swift, firm, impartial, and immediate intervention. The stakes are too high for silence or inaction.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025