On the one hand, India has been emphasising to strengthen the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) with Pakistan to normalise relations between both the countries, but on the other, it has continuously been giving a greater setback to the CBMs in one or the other way, which shows Indian dubious approach.

In this regard, Indian soldiers crossed over the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir on January 6, this year and attacked a Pakistani check post in Haji Pir sector, killing one Pakistani soldier and injuring many troops. Besides, Indian troops shot dead two Pakistani soldiers at Hotspring on the LoC on January 10 and 15.

In this respect, the Pakistani Foreign Office summoned the Indian High Commissioner and lodged a strong protest on the repeated and unprovoked attacks on Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistani foreign secretary also asked India to “thoroughly investigate the repeated ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) by Indian troops”, reiterating the offer to hold an independent inquiry through the United Nations Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which India flatly refused.

There have been three blatant violations by Indian troops in five days, which have given a blow to the ceasefire of 2003 along the LoC.

While in order to justify its open aggression, India concocted a fabricated story of accusing Pakistan of killing and beheading its two soldiers in the same area of the LoC. Despite the fact that Pakistan’s civil and army spokesmen have denied Indian baseless allegations of beheading its two soldiers, Indian top officials, the opposition party and media have perennially been launching a blame game to distort the image of Pak Army and Pakistan.

In this context, Indian Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne stated on January 12 in threatening tone that India will be forced to consider other options, if ceasefire violations continue from the Pakistan side across the Line of Control. On the same day, senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rajnath Singh asked the Manmohan Singh-led government to stop all dialogue and confidence-building measures with Pakistan due to the alleged brutal beheadings of Indian soldiers and recall its High Commissioner to Islamabad over the alleged ceasefire violations.

On January 14, Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh also threatened to retaliate against Pakistan for the alleged killing of two soldiers in fighting near the disputed border of Kashmir, saying, he had asked his commanders there to be aggressive in the face of provocation. Earlier, India’s external affairs ministry had summoned Pakistan high commissioner Salman Bashir to protest the killing of the two Indian soldiers.

Even Indian Prime Minister Singh allegedly said on January 15 that there could be no “business as usual” with Pakistan after a clash along the LoC in Kashmir in which two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated.

However, ISPR spokesman stated that Pakistan has lodged a strong protest during a flag meeting between Pakistani and Indian military officials on continuous ceasefire violations including attempted raid by Indian troops on the LoC in which two Pakistani soldiers were martyred.

Meanwhile, while referring to the recent breakthrough in bilateral ties Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has pointed out in wake of Indian propaganda that she did not see the recent violations of the LoC ceasefire derailing or setting back the peace process with India, explaining that the government and people of Pakistan were committed to normalising relations with India.

Notably, Indian conflicting reports of Indian media and rulers have exposed New Delhi’s self-created story. In this context, some say that one Indian soldier was decapitated, while some reveal the beheading of two soldiers.

India is making noise with the assistance of its media to accelerate its venomous propaganda so as to show to the world that Pak Army is involved in violations along the disputed border of Kashmir, and Pakistan intends to derail the CMBs.

Regrettably, our media is so engaged in manipulating internal controversial issues that the incident of indiscriminate firing on Pakistani soldiers at LoC could hardly get any coverage. Country’s media commentators have totally failed in countering Indian propaganda campaign in this respect.

In fact, India is emphasising more on CBMs than to pay attention for the settlement of real issues. Notably, regarding the visit of India’s External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to Pakistan on September 9, 2012, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khar stated that with her counterpart Krishna, she discussed all the outstanding issues such as terrorism, Siachen, Sir Creek, Wullar Barrage, water and especially main dispute of Kashmir. Both the countries also signed agreements of liberalised visa regime and a memorandum of understanding on cultural exchanges in addition to agreeing on new cross-Line of Control (LoC) Confidence Building Measures related to trade and travel.

Nevertheless, implementation of these agreements has started. In this context, Islamabad also signed a number of trade agreemens with New Delhi, which allowed India exports of mutltiple items across the Wagah border. It is also likely to grant India Most Favoured Nation status, which permits trade in almost everything. But like Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during his trip, S M Krishna had warned that in case of Mumbai-like incident; relations between the two countries could lapse.

As part of the CBMs, under the Aman Ki Asha initiative, recently renowned Pakistani and Indian media anchors, retired high civil and military officials including film stars have participated in various seminars and gatherings in both the countries to create favourable atmosphere to intensify the peace process, and to discuss practical solutions to the bilateral issues.

By setting aside the CBMs, recently, India decided to erect a ‘floating fence’, anchored by submerged metallic meshes, along the disputed Sir Creek border area with Pakistan. Sir Creek which sits in the Rann of Kutch marshlands is the 96 km narrow piece of water between India’s Gujarat state and Pakistan’s Sindh province is sovereign part of Pakistan’s territory.

It is due to New Delhi’s duplicity with Islamabad that Indian rulers availed various crises to suspend the process of Pak-India talks. For example, in 2002, under the pretension of terrorist attack on the Indian parliament, New Delhi postponed the process of dialogue. Again, in 2008, India suspended the ‘composite dialogue’ under the pretext of Mumbai terror attacks which were in fact, arranged by its secret agency RAW in connivance with Indian home-grown terrorists.

India and Pakistan had resumed the new phase of talks in March, 2009 which were the first structured bilateral talks. But every time, prime ministers and foreign ministers of the two countries ended their meetings with issuance of positive notes, and vowed that their parleys would pave the way for the settlement of real issues, particularly the core dispute of Kashmir, but the same failed without producing tangible results due to Indian double game.

It is mentionable that Indian adamant stand regarding Pak-India parleys are not without some sinister designs. In this regard, India is determined to keep its hold on Kashmir which is considered by it as integrated part of the Indian union. It also wants to blackmail Pakistan by stopping the flow of rivers’ water towards Pakistan as major rivers of our country take origin from the occupied Kashmir. India is only fulfilling the formality through the new phase of talks as Indian rulers also want to show to the US-led western countries that they are willing to settle all the outstanding disputes with Pakistan including Kashmir. And New Delhi wants to continue state terrorism on the innocent Kashmiris who are waging a ‘war of liberation’ for their legitimate rights as recognised by the UNO.

In these terms, recent violations at the LoC and blatant aggression by killing two Pakistani soldiers in wake of insisting upon CMBs clearly indicate Indian dubious approach.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

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