[DAWN] FOR many years, the Pak state has alleged -- sometimes credibly, sometimes seemingly less so -- that India is involved in stoking violence and terrorism inside Pakistain. Of particular concern have been Balochistan...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
over the last decade, Fata and Khyber Pakthunkhwa for several years now, and Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
for at least a couple of decades. Never before, however, has the state here tried to formally substantiate its allegations. That changed this week with the handover to UN Secretary General
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon's office of three dossiers containing evidence of Indian involvement in Karachi, Balochistan and Fata. The dossiers were originally to be handed over to Indian officials, but after the cancellation of the NSA talks and with no meeting transpiring on the sidelines of the UNGA, the Pak government appears to have decided to take up the matter with the world body itself.It is hoped, especially since the dossiers are to form the basis of a renewed push by Pakistain to internationalise its troubles and disputes with India, that there is indeed substantive and serious evidence contained in the documents. While the outside world, and global powers in particular, have been courting the Indian market, and India has been ramping up its diplomatic ties with the world, the fact is that as a nuclear region, potential conflict between India and Pakistain is a continuing worry for the global community. As such, bringing to light evidence of Indian attempts to destabilise Pakistain, a country already wracked by many hues of Lion of Islam violence, could possibly galvanise international attention towards the continuing and dangerous tensions in this region. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy of effectively not talking to Pakistain is perhaps as much a danger today as the threat posed by non-state actors -- when the state itself closes the door on dialogue, all manner of hawkish and non-state elements in both countries tend to get mobilised.
Fortunately, the handover of the dossiers has not led the Pak government to also shut the door on dialogue. As Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj
PrunefaceAziz
...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in goodjihadis and
badjihadis as a matter of national policy...
reiterated, his government prefers to address all issues through dialogue. But what last week's events -- be it the prime minister's meetings with world leaders; the four points mooted by him in his UNGA address; or the dossier-related actions -- do not amount to is a coherent plan for any kind of forward movement. If anything, the petulant reaction of the Indian government to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
's four points suggests that bilateral tensions are unlikely to subside or dissipate anytime soon. Perhaps, though, in the meantime, the Pak side can work on bringing the various institutional actors on the same page when it comes to its India policy. The gap between the approaches of the civilian government and the military establishment is noticeable -- and wholly unwelcome.