ICYMI #TheTribune Opinion: Should we go in for war or do we have other alternatives

Amid heightened cross-border tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack, India has been exerting relentless pressure on Pakistan. Measures taken by India, like halting water flow, blocking YouTube channels of famous Pakistani artistes and cricket stars, banning imports and suspending shipping and postal services, are aimed at crippling Pakistan while keeping the military option as the last resort.

That is the question The Tribune Editor-in-Chief Jyoti Malhotra has asked in her OPED piece How to solve a problem like Pakistan. With his ‘friend’ Donald Trump walking the middle path and his enemy Pakistan hell-bent on trying to internationalise the issue, PM Narendra Modi has the realisation that his legacy will be affected by how he deals with his belligerent, trouble-stoking western neighbour. The next few days, probably even weeks, are going to be the toughest for him, she writes.

Former DGP Punjab Julio Ribeiro offers a part solution about Kashmir through his article Win over locals to combat terror. He shares his own experience in Punjab, where farmers started informing the police about the presence of terrorists in villages that helped the police crack down on them. When a state is afflicted with terrorism, local conditions have to be studied before plans are made and in terrorism-affected areas, you can’t let your guard down even for a moment.

Adding to the above perspective is the military standpoint of former deputy chief of army staff Lt Gen Harwant Singh (retd), who in his article Avoid strike against Pakistan. It could escalate into war. The better option is to prepare well at the LoC to face any mischief by Pakistan, which hasn’t understood even after the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty that it needs to focus on economic progress.

Taking us further is the former Northern Army commander Lt Gen DS Hooda (retd) through his OPED article, Drones are changing war and India must catch up and he answers a pertinent question: Are we battle ready? Of course, we are. But it is a reality that drone warfare has become a central feature of modern combat so much so that special drone units and counter-drone units will have to be created within all three armed forces, he writes.

Meanwhile, former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin adds a different dimension to the issue. He writes in his article, Pakistan ‘s old playbook in a new crisis that our western neighbour is using the same old playbook—upping the ante at the time of a foreign dignitary’s visit to India to draw international attention, holding post-midnight press conferences and crying wolf to draw attention to unimportant details, and asking for a neutral inquiry. But he writes that in India-Pakistan matters, sometimes backchannel diplomacy has proved effective.

Highlighting a more immediate and assertive policy shift, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty that survived four wars, countless skirmishes and deep-rooted enmity. What message does it send? When core interests are threatened, no agreement is beyond revision writes Uttam Kumar Sinha in his article Indus Waters Treaty needs to be renewed.

Let’s shift focus from Pakistan to our eastern neighbour China. It is consistently trying to portray a picture of neutrality post-Pahalgam massacre, not to miss that it is supporting Pakistan as part of a transactional approach. In his OPED piece, China’s calculated neutrality on Pahalgam, Jabin T Jacob writes that for the moment, China doesn’t want to complicate ties with the US or India. The India-Pakistan conflict would drain both the countries and it is a win-win situation for China, he writes.

Meanwhile, shifting from geopolitical tensions to the war of technologies being waged by various countries, science commentator Dinesh C Sharma gives warning signs to the Indian government in his article Don’t miss the chip bus again. He writes that India should not neglect research & development for developing and testing semiconductor technology, which is the backbone of products ranging from automobiles, mobile phones, missiles, and whatnot. The Covid pandemic had triggered a shortage of semiconductor chips, which was the first wake-up call to India and now the tariff war is the second such warning. India needs to take a mission approach if it wants to stay in the race, and boost the economy, which in turn will boost our defence as well.