Despite claims on either side of not desiring any escalation of increasing conflict levels, the day following the Indian air-strike at Balakot, at least one fighter jet of either Air Force “went down”, an IAF pilot was in the custody of the adversary while the fate of the PAF aviator was unknown and the situation was in danger of spinning out of control.
A degree of international pressure was also evident when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan advocated negotiated de-escalation to avert potential mutual disaster. At the time of writing there was no response from Mr Narendra Modi, but with the position articulated earlier by his Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary his stock in the global community would probably rise; after all a classic operation of the IAF has sent out a powerful message.
Switching off his TV set and taking an independent decision would stand the PM in good stead for the unemployed generals now demand the kind of “robust” response they had never taken when wielding command. Where the Indian handling of the situation was a trifle “wanting” was a reluctance to use the media to debunk the mischief being spread from Islamabad.
It was only toward the evening that the MEA opted to take the public into confidence but its official spokesman was much too terse to appear reassuring. True the spokesman cannot be on call 24×7 (although why shouldn’t he?), but official clarifications would help scotch rumours. Else most channels will have no alternative to joining an unhealthy competition with their rivals.
Another point over which avoidable confusion was created was the closure of many airports in northern India to civil traffic. True that the restrictions were lifted after a few hours, but by then much damage had already been done. Surely when the nation is on the verge of hostilities all departments of the government must be on the same page.
At the political level an Opposition decision to shun “normal” muck-raking was welcome, despite its caveats. A pity that a statement from the finance minister (possibly made a day earlier) that India had the capacity to replicate the US Navy SEALS’ “taking out” Osama bin Laden hit the air waves on Wednesday. Senior members of the Cabinet must watch their words.
Though a ray of hope was generated by Imran Khan’s “offer” there can be no relaxation of the domestic security vigil. For even if the government disagrees, militants play by their own rules, the local police’s inept intelligence-gathering capability makes people “soft targets” in markets, public transport centres etc.
Never forgetting the basic premise that talks and terror are incompatible. And that the brilliance exhibited by the Foreign Secretary and the IAF must not go in vain. Still, we must await the morrow with postivity.