Aggressive rhetoric
EDITORIAL: India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on an image-building visit to France and some other EU countries has made several pointed and provocative remarks about Pakistan. In an interview with Politico Magazine he accused Islamabad of using 'terrorism as an instrument of state policy', going on to claim that it was training 'thousands' of terrorists 'in the open' and 'unleashing' them on India.
In a vain attempt to cover up the setback Indian military, particularly air force, suffered during last month's misadventure against Pakistan, he asserted, 'we are not going to live with it... And we don't care where they are. If they are deep in Pakistan, we will go deep into Pakistan.'
Jaishankar's belligerent remarks have earned him a sharp rebuke from the Foreign Office in Islamabad. 'The discourse of top diplomats should aim to promote peace and harmony rather than producing bellicose punch lines,' said the FO. It also advised New Delhi to desist from concocting misleading narratives to justify its recent aggressive actions, emphasising the need for peaceful coexistence, dialogue and diplomacy.
Aggressive actions have not worked so far to Modi government's advantage, however. Its military preparedness' weakness was first exposed in the 2019 air strike in Balakot, when in a retaliatory response the next day Pakistan downed at least one Indian jet and captured the pilot. Yet it employed the same ruse – unsubstantiated allegation of terrorism in Pahalgam – and tactics last month, launching missile and drone strikes inside this country. In the ensuing conflict it lost six of its top of the line jets.
New Delhi since has been too embarrassed to name the number of warplanes shot down in action. When asked by Politico Jaishankar also wouldn't come to the point; all he could say was that the appropriate authorities would communicate on the matter when ready.
But France, where he was speaking, knows the truth not only because of the three Rafale jets the PAF downed, but also for the reason that the EU and other major powers – the US, China, and Russia – all have eyes in the sky (satellite constellations).
They could see exactly what happened and where to IAF aircraft. As a result, Pakistan's esteem has risen in diplomatic and military circles. While India likes to position itself as the dominant power in South Asia and also projected as a 'Net Security Provider' in the indo-Pacific region, the reversal it suffered during the four-day confrontation has undermined that narrative.
Pakistan 's ability to withstand, repel, and convincingly outmanoeuvre Indian military moves make it confident to be more rational and restrained in reacting to minister Jaishankar's offensive remarks. The FO's call for improving the standard of discourse is a genuine plea for elevating the quality of discourse in one of the world's most volatile regions. If only the two nations interact with civility, that can pave the way to peaceful co-existence, if not cooperation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Pakistan to recommend Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 25, 2025. PHOTO:REUTER Listen to article Pakistan said on Saturday it would recommend US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade that he has said he craves, for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between Pakistan and India. Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran's nuclear facilities. Pakistan has condemned Israel's action as a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability. Pakistan agrees that US diplomatic intervention ended the fighting, but India says it was a bilateral agreement between the two militaries. "President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation," Pakistan said. "This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker." Governments can nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize. There was no immediate response from Washington. A spokesperson for the Indian government did not respond to a request for comment. Trump has repeatedly said that he's willing to mediate between Pakistan and India over the disputed Kashmir region, their main source of enmity. In a social media post on Friday, Trump gave a long list of conflicts he said he had resolved, including India and Pakistan and the Abraham accords in his first term between Israel and some Muslim-majority countries. He added: "I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do." Mushahid Hussain, a former chair of the Senate Defence Committee in Pakistan's parliament, suggested nominating Trump for the peace prize was justified. "Trump is good for Pakistan," he said. "If this panders to Trump's ego, so be it. All the European leaders have been sucking up to him big time." But the move was not universally applauded in Pakistan, where Trump's support for Israel's war in Gaza has inflamed passions.
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
EU cracks down on pet cruelty with new law
Cutting tails or ears will be banned in most cases. Photo: BBC Compulsory microchips as well as bans on ear-cropping and tail-docking are among a set of new rules to protect cats and dogs that European lawmakers approved Thursday. The European Union is home to more than 72 million dogs and 83 million cats, according to the European Commission, which so far has only regulated health requirements for them related to travel within the bloc. But an uptick in trafficking pushed the EU to propose a set of common rules for breeding, housing and handling the animals, whose sales generate an estimated 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) annually. The European Parliament in Strasbourg voted on a text put forward by the commission in 2023, which introduces minimum welfare criteria for dogs and cats in kennels and shelters. Lawmakers also voted to ban the keeping or selling of dogs and cats in pet shops, a provision not included in the original text, meaning buyers would have to buy them directly from breeders or kennels. "With this proposal, we would create the first-ever minimum rules, giving member states the possibility to go beyond these standards," said the text's rapporteur, Veronika Vrecionova of the hard-right ECR group. Approved with 457 votes in favour and 17 against, the bill says all dogs and cats should be identified with a subcutaneous microchip when they are sold - a system already in use in some member states - and registered in an EU database. That would increase traceability and tackle illegal traffic, predominantly of dogs, with animal protection groups singling out eastern EU countries like Romania and Bulgaria. Painful mutilations, like cutting tails or ears, will also be banned in most cases, as will electric, choke and spiked collars without safety stoppers. The law also prohibits inbreeding and the breeding of animals with accentuated traits, such as overly short legs, that could affect their welfare. The measures enjoyed broad consensus among political groups but the extent of their application had been the cause of contention, leading to some amendments. An exception for breeders keeping a small number of animals, which had upset some on the left, was weakened by parliament, which lowered the threshold for breeders to qualify. Yet other exemptions opposed by animal rights activists remained. The ban on mutilations, for example, is less stringent for hunting dogs. Similarly, coercive collars will still be allowed to train police, military and border patrol dogs.
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business Recorder
India's water belligerence
That India has learnt no lesson from its humiliation that it has suffered in the battle field as well as on the diplomatic front at the hands of Pakistan is a fact that has found its best expression form its home minister Amit Shah's remarks that he made in an interview to an Indian newspaper yesterday. According to him, India will never restore the Indus Waters Treaty with Islamabad, and the water flowing to Pakistan will be diverted for internal use. This development clearly shows that it is a foolish attempt at face-saving. Needless to say, the incumbent government in India, which is the political face of Sangh Parivar, is working day in, day out to restore its tarnished image, but nothing is working for it. In my view, it is quite likely that the very public loss of credibility will lead to the demise of the Narendra Modi-led government in coming weeks or months, if not days. Saba Shaukat, Karachi Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
