Recent provocations from India have dangerously escalated tensions, which were already high after New Delhi’s blundering military aggression earlier this year. In fact, at least part of the motivation behind the latest salvo of rubbish from India’s highest civil and military offices is the international embarrassment over how badly their earlier offensive campaign went.
Days after Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave a speech threatening military action around Sir Creek, peppering it with a fictional recollection of the conflict earlier this year, Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, again without any evidence, accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism and threatened that if Islamabad continues to do so, it would “risk losing its place on the map”. With past history in mind, India has also been planning ahead for its airborne ineptitude, buying several new aircraft to compensate for those that PAF will inevitably shoot down.
In response to this warmongering, Pakistan has demonstrated resolute restraint and a clear commitment to peace, while unequivocally stating that any aggression will be met decisively. The military promised a “swift and decisive response” to India’s “new normal”, which analysts agree has been a combination of loud bark and small bite.
Another factor in the differing responses has been the global realignment of recent months. The Pak-Saudi defence treaty caused Indian leaders to shift in their seats, the lack of support for India’s mud-slinging at Pakistan exposed the failure of their diplomats, and the assassination of dissidents has already harmed its ties with critical allies such as Canada.
But what has come up as major factor is the degeneration of India’s ties with the US coupled with increasingly close ties between Pakistani leaders and the US president. India’s swift loss of Western allies has coincided with its rapid descent into foreign policy madness. Unfortunately, not enough countries have called out India’s nuclear warmongering. Global powers must hold India accountable, or the warmongering and terrorism will continue.
