16.8.16

PM hits back on Balochistan, Gilgit & PoK

In a major shift in India's Pakistan policy , PM Narendra Modi used his Independence Day speech to bring “Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK“ into the ambit of India's engagement with Pakistan, saying people from these regions had thanked him profusely for giving voice to their problems .
Pushing the boundaries of political discourse that usually stops at accusing Pakistan of terror and reiterating Indian sovereignty on J&K, Modi waded into Pakistan's “internal affairs“ and said he has been receiving heartfelt thanks from citizens of Balochistan, Gilgit and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.“These messages are from a land I have never seen... people I have never met,“ he said.
Ticking off Pakistan from the Red Fort is not unique and ex-PM Manmohan Singh has used the occasion to warn the neighbour over terrorism. But the detailed references to Pakistan's internal fault lines are a first and signal what the strategic community describes as a “qualitative shift in our Pakistan policy“. party meeting on violence in Kashmir, where he said the time had come for Pakistan to answer for its atrocities in Balochistan and PoK. “When they (people of Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK) honour the PM of India, they are also honouring the people of India,“ the Prime Minister said, drawing a round of applause from the Red Fort audience.
It comes in the backdrop of Islamabad's open backing of violent protests in Kashmir.But the bid to kickstart the peace process at the highest level failed in the face of terror attacks such as Pathankot and Sharif 's provocative stance on the Kashmir protests.
Government sources, however, pointed to the PM's reference to his vision of Saarc nations combating poverty and said he had made a sincere attempt at peace which international opinion has noted. Modi's current tough stance is the result of Pakistan's persistent refusal to act against terrorism and its active role in fuelling violence in Kashmir.
Slamming Pakistan for “glorifying“ terrorism, Modi said he would be happy if global opinion differentiated between humanitarian and pro-terrorism approaches. “When terrorists brutally killed innocent children in Peshawar...there were tears in the eyes of those in (Indian) Parliament...But look elsewhere, how terrorists are glorified, how innocents being killed in a terror incident is celebrated,“ he said.
On India's 70th Independence Day , Modi signalled a proactive approach to push the debate on Kashmir into Pakistani terrain by training his guns on areas considered the “internal“ matters of the neighbour. Giving a go-by to conventional approaches, the PM hit out at Pakistan and argued that it needed to address rights violations at home rather than claim a role in events in Kashmir. It also displayed a determination to rebuff Pakistan's demands for a dialogue.
Baloch activists had promptly welcomed Modi's comments, saying it was time the global community took note of state-sponsored violence in the south-western province of Pakistan.

No comments: