- Arbitrary maps don’t change ground realities
Towards the end of last year the Indian government released two maps that showed Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as part of its Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit and Baltistan as part of its Union Territory of Ladakh. Pakistan’s Foreign Office rejected these political maps which were incompatible with ones recognized by the United Nations. Pakistan maintained that no step by India could change the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir as recognised by the UN.
India’s claim on the Chinese territory has led to the recent bloody face-off between the armies of the two countries. Despite being one of the smallest Indian neighbours, Nepal has issued a map showing three disputed areas along the border with India as a part of Nepal’s own territory while rejecting Indian claims.
India initiated a diplomatic row with Pakistan last month by expelling two officials of the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi, accusing them of espionage. The claim was immediately rejected by Pakistan as false and unsubstantiated. Two weeks later Pakistani police briefly detained two employees of the Indian Embassy in Islamabad after their car hit and injured a pedestrian. India has in retaliation announced halving its diplomatic staff in Pakistan, demanding that Pakistan follow suit within a week.
The year 2020 began with provocations from India’s highest civil and military quarters. Soon after being appointed chief of the Indian army, Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane announced that he would ‘take action’ to claim Azad Kashmir if ordered by Parliament. Days later a jingoistic Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that the Indian armed forces won’t take more than a week-10 days to make Pakistan bite dust. Prime Minister Imran Khan has cautioned the world on a number of occasions recently that India was planning to initiate a false flag operation as an excuse to launch an armed attack on Pakistan.
National interest demands that the PTI government renounce its divisive policies inside the country and take the opposition on board. This will send a message to India that Pakistan is united to face any adventurist act. With the country ruled by a coalition with a slender majority and facing internal bickering, an urgent understanding with the opposition is a must.
