Time for diplomacy

The  events of the past few weeks have added another insalubrious chapter in the subcontinent’s history. Pakistan, while claiming to offer the olive branch, also abetted the killing of over 40 paramilitary personnel in Pulwama in a suicide attack. Such a situation was unpalatable for any self-respecting nation. For over three years, the Modi government had drawn a red line on dialogue with Pakistan. It has been resisting talks till the terror issue was first put on the table. This, in diplomatic language, is like walking into a cul de sac, leaving no room for manoeuvring so essential in the world of inter-state relations. This may have left South Block’s practitioners of muscular statecraft little option but to deliver a riposte with military overtones.

The chicken may have come home to roost. What seemed to be the perfect ‘non-military strike’ against a terrorist camp is now showing indications of escalation. If statesmen do not retrieve the situation, both countries could well slide down the slope of an armed conflict which will spell economic destitution for Pakistan and a relatively better, but still unenviable, situation for India. War is not an option for nuclear-armed neighbours and those who start a war do not know how it will end. 

Narendra Modi and Imran Khan have often spoken past each other. Modi had reminded Khan about his assurance of being a man of his word and Khan now needs to walk the talk. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, too, has said India does not wish to see further escalation and will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. Friendly nations, from the US to Russia and France, have supported India, which can retain their empathy if it does not step up the escalation. The testosterone-laden serenading of muscularity from the sidelines does not account for the devastation that is written into the DNA of conflicts. A step back and dialogue is the need of the hour.