It's time India ends the illusion of peace with Pakistan

“You can change friends, but not neighbours.”
— Atal Bihari Vajpayee

The above statement by former India Prime Minister and veteran BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee captures the essence of India's long, complex, and often painful relationship with Pakistan. Despite efforts for peace, dialogue, and diplomacy, India has been been forced to face a bitter reality — some neighbours refuse to change. The terror strike in Pahalgam on April 22, when 26 innocent lives were killed, is another out-and-out reminder of how our goodness has been repaid with blood. For how long India is going to pay the price for being the more patient side?

April 22 - a day that will be marked as a deadly massacre of innocent lives in J&K's Pahalgam. As many as 26 people, majority of them were tourists, were targeted and shot dead in front of their loved ones by the terrorists. The reason - we don't know. The motive - we don’t know. But what we know is who gave those terrorists support and asylum. It's needless to say how Pakistan has always been the root of the problem. Every single time. 

We, India, have been trapped in an endless loop with this neighbour of ours since decades now. When does this end? 

When a group of terrorists killed 26 people in Pahalgam on April 22, the world was shaken. It was not during a war. It was not during a conflict. It was when those tourists were taking in the beauty of nature in their own country, on their motherland. The brutal attack has left a lifetime scare on all of our minds and hearts. World leaders took over the social media, expressed their grief. Hashtags in support of the victims, and against the attackers, trended. Now what? 

Here’s the hard truth: Pakistan isn’t going to change. So India must.

As per the government records, be it 26/11, Nathanson, Uri, Pulwama, or Pahalgam, over 20 major terror attacks occurred on the Indian soil that were by Pakistan-backed groups since 1999. 

I's time to admit that our strategy and leniency towards Pakistan has failed us in curbing its terrorism on our land. Becasue: 

1. The two prime designated global terrorists in Pakistan - Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed have log-walked in Pakistan. The latter even launched a political party in Pakistan. 

2. In 2022, Pakistan was removed from the FATF’s grey list. Yet, groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed continue to operate under new names in the neighbouring country.

What India MUST do differently

1. Water is the weapon

After the heinous terror attack that took 26 innocent lives, India responded with a series of diplomatic measures. Among them was the suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. The Indus river system comprises all the major rivers of India: Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Jhelum and Chenab. The Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej are collectively referred to as the eastern rivers, while the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab are known as the western rivers. The river system is crucial for both India and Pakistan. Indian government has said the treaty will be suspended until Pakistan stops supporting the cross-border terrorism. 

But the suspension of the treaty does not mean there will be a pause on water flow from India to Pakistan. Currently, we do not have that mechanism, and it will take years to materialise. But we must move forward with this goal. 

2. Cut the cord - completely

There should be no more half-baked diplomacy from our side. We need to cut all the ties completely. We should stop back-channel talks that go nowhere. Let them feel the cold. Let the world know we’re done pretending things are normal.

3. Turn the tables

Enough of always defending ourselves for their constant terrorism attacks. It's time we take the action and turn the table, but in our way. Because terrorising innocent lives is not an Indian approach. India should go ahead with financial sabotaging Pakistan. They shouldn’t just fear our border forces - they should fear every move we make in the shadows.

4. Play the global game - better

India is not just the biggest democracy in the world - It's a rising power. It's high time we start acting like one, especially for Pakistani. We need to expose Pakistan’s terror game at every global platform. Let's get the US, EU, and Gulf on board and start pushing FATF to act harder. 

5. Let's be loud about PoK and Balochistan

It's high time we need to tackle the desperation Pakistan has for Jammu and Kashmir. It's time we start taking about PoK, Balochistan, along with all other “occupied territories" by our not-so-peace-loving neighbour.