Mint Quick Edit | Pakistan is caught in a time warp
Summary
Voices from across the border make it clear that Pakistan’s power establishment is stuck in the past. It must quit hoary obsessions and turn to the future. A stopwatch is ticking on this endeavour.
It’s a matter of deep dismay that Pakistan’s power establishment has amped up its rhetoric on not just the hollow “two-nation theory" but also on an equally flaky analogy of governance from the early days of Islamic history. This was evident in a speech by its army chief Asim Munir shortly before the terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir.
Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | India can gain Indus leverage over Pakistan
While India contemplates retaliatory action, with the Indus Waters Treaty already held in abeyance as a sort of Damocles guillotine over Pakistan’s future water supply, the dynamics of the two neighbours’ testy relationship inspire little hope that high-profile punitive measures alone will be able to make Islamabad abandon its delusions of religious purpose.
Also Read: Kashmir simmers but Pakistan’s game has no winners
To make headway, we need the rest of the world to nudge Pakistan’s focus towards its failing economy. If Communist China could dump doctrinaire policies in its pursuit of prosperity, why can’t India’s western neighbour? Maybe it expects to fit into the geopolitical jigsaw of Beijing’s grand plans for Asia, but even that would require it to pull its weight on the economic front.
Also Read: Pahalgam attack: Retaliation is easy, but restraint serves India’s long-term interests
In a world of nukes, all-out war is a non-option. Its benefactor China must acknowledge that an “Asian century" requires peace across the Eastern hemisphere. At this point, every country should impress upon Islamabad that it must give up its past obsessions and squarely face the future.
Pakistan has been held hostage by its “deep state" for much too long, India’s patience has worn thin and a stopwatch is ticking for the former to exit its time warp.
