Why can’t we understand that the Pakistani State is controlled by the Military-ISI and these two entities out to Balkanise India are doing everything possible to achieve this end in cahoots with a host of terrorist organisations?

Pakistan displayed barbarianism again by ambushing an Indian military patrol 600 metres inside Indian territory in Mendhar Sector, killing two soldiers mutilating their bodies and carrying the head of one back to Pakistan. Just a week earlier, an article by General S.K. Sinha was circulating on the Net describing that when a soldier of our Army was beheaded on an earlier occasion and taken to Musharraf, latter had rewarded the butcher with one lakh rupees. India has issued a démarche to Salman Bashir who looks most amused – this foxy diplomat was Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary when 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack occurred.

Why did we have to get Pakistanis onto TV channel debates and see their gloating smiles denying culpability? One joker even had the gumption to say that a third party witness is essential before you make accusations. What did you expect in any case? If Pakistan refuses to even acknowledge the 26/11 perpetrators, how do you expect them to take responsibility for such heinous acts. The familiar noises were heard – “Pakistan’s act unacceptable”, “don’t let the peace dialogue derail” and the like including The External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid saying we have achieved so much already. Hope he does not count Rehman Malik insulting us in our own home as achievement.

Media says the US wants both sides to show restraint. Look who is preaching after faking nukes in Iraq post-9/11 and morphing perceptions now that Bashar Assad is on the verge of unleashing chemical weapons. The million-dollar question, however, is when will the Indian State wake up to ground realities of Pakistan and acquire some spunk of its own?

The killing and mutilation of Captain Saurabh Kalia and his patrol and the unarmed Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja used for target shooting practice during 1999 also had the same Indian response – warning to Pakistan.

North and South Blocks might as well acquire mascot pigs and be satisfied by issuing any amount of démarches. What happened in 1999 was gross violation of Geneva Conventions but we neither raised the issue with the UN nor went to the International Court of Justice – we still haven’t despite some media murmurs after Captain Kalia’s father knocked the doors of the Supreme Court.

Why can’t we understand that the Pakistani State is controlled by the Military-ISI and these two entities out to Balkanise India are doing everything possible to achieve this end in cahoots with a host of terrorist organisations? We still call a charlielike Musharraf for leadership summits who has the gumption to talk of demilitarisation.

Lt General (Retd) Shahid Aziz, former Corps Commander of Lahore, recently wrote about Kargil, “The whole truth about Kargil is yet to be known…..It was a total disaster…..We didn’t pre-empt anything; nothing was on the cards. I was then heading the Analysis Wing of Inter-Services Intelligence……Our clearly expressed intent was to cut the supply line to Siachen and force the Indians to pull out…There were no mujahideen, only taped wireless messages, which fooled no one. Our soldiers…the boys were comforted by their commander’s assessment that no serious response would come….Cut off and forsaken, our posts started collapsing one after the other, though the General (Musharraf) publicly denied it.”

The Centre does not even take action against an arrogant scum like Akbaruddin Owaisi who openly threatens the State because of vote-bank politics. So what do we do about this cross border incident? It is quite simple. The porosity of the LoC is not one way. Keep playing cricket but such incidents must be replied ‘with interest’ in the same coin. Raise interest levels till the message goes home. A dirty war must have a similar response. Respond to deniability with deniability. Keep talking to their puppet government but efforts by the Pakistani State to Balkanise India must be responded to in similar fashion.

The views expressed herein are the personal views of the author.