I hope that sanity returns soon to the sub-continent and hawkish talk (and now action) of war mongering does not get out of hand. It is all too easy for things to escalate. It is never easy for them to be brought back into control once they have done so.
In what seems to be a case of military provocation and pressure tactics against Pakistan, Indian planes violated Pakistani airspace yesterday. Even though the violations have been officially termed as ‘inadvertent’, two border violations on the same day are a little too much. It will be interesting to see whether international community says anything against these violations or remains silent spectator.
According to latest Dawn update:
ISLAMABAD, Dec 13: Indian planes violated Pakistan’s airspace on Saturday, but fighters of the Pakistan Air Force chased them away, military as well as civilian officials confirmed late in the night.
Air Commodre Humayun Viqar Zephyr, a PAF spokesman, told Dawn that the Indian planes intruded into Pakistan’s airspace in Azad Kashmir and Lahore sectors, but left as soon as they sighted the PAF jets.
He said there was no cause for concern as the PAF was “fully alive to the situation and capable of giving a befitting reply in case of a misadventureâ€.
Official sources said President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani were immediately informed about the incident and the matter was taken up with the Indian authorities.
Information Minister Sherry Rehman confirmed that Islamabad had got in touch with authorities in New Delhi, implicitly conceding that the violation did take place. But she hastened to add that Indians had done it inadvertently
From Pakistani side, I am heartened to read the messages of unity where both Government and opposition leaders have put aside their petty differences and unequivocally condemned this act of aggression.
Lets see what effects such violations will have. Will Pakistan now move its armed forces towards Indian border leaving the western border less guarded? With the Pakistani border on both the West and the East being violated routinely, something will have to give? But what? Who will win in such situation? How will such acts effect the democratic government in Pakistan?
Will good sense prevail and will diplomacy prevail over aggression? I certainly hope it does.
@ mike
I may be delusional but u can’t get a word against Pak army from me.
I respect every single jawan of pakistan army for what they are.
i refuse to be drawn into maligning our own forces. I support Pak army with all my heart in protecting our borders.
To Mike and others like him,
“When a state cannot control its territory from terrorists , others will do it for you (American drone attacks).”
Really, can we control illegals coming from Mexico?
How about the drugs? or all the intrusions by everyday criminals in all the countries of the world?
how do you stop someone determinded to cross a border?
Maybe build a fence and a minefield across the borders?
How about the coasts?
How do you protect them against a small group of people who care nothing about laws, borders or innocent lives?
Please give us an example on how to do it, because obviously Pak Government can’t do it & neither can the US stop the flow of goods & people across Mexican border. You must know something we don’t.
I agree that these people need to be stopped & there motives debunked. But please don’t be swayed by simplistic arguments. Nothing is as simple as it seems.
http://www.geo.tv/12-16-2008/30811.htm
From the link above,
“” Adnan Sami can’t sing: Jagjit Singh
Singer Adnan Sami refuses to believe that Indian ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh criticized him by saying “he can’t sing and should go back to Pakistan”.
“I can’t believe Jagjit would talk like this about me. He’s always been so sweet to me. I’m his biggest fan. And why would he say I came to India to become an actor?
“When I came here, I weighed three times more than what I am. And why would he accuse me of sending my money to Pakistan? I earn and pay taxes in Mumbai, I can show you my PAN card,” said Adnan.
Singh, who openly acknowledges Mehdi Hassan as his main inspiration, told a website in an interview that Adnan can’t sing and should go back home.
Jagjit Singh was quoted as saying, “He (Adnan) became a singer by mistake. He had come here to become an actor and by mistake he became a singer. He can’t even sing. People like him should be sent back to work there (Pakistan) because they make money in India and send it to Pakistan,”
”
http://music.ndtv.com/story.asp?id=ENTEN2008007664 6
To all reasonable Pakistanis – A western friend of mine who is completing for her Phd [at Yale] on Urdu poetry in Delhi during the days of Bahadur Shah Zafar and Mirza Ghalib travels to Pakistan and India often. And on these travels she comes across all sorts of people, from the galis and kuchas of old Delhi to the posh neighborhoods of Karachi.
The other day she asked me and a Professor friend of mine, whose family is originally from Delhi, now resident in Karachi, and who is also her informal guide.
She askedm and I paraphrase – when I go to India I meet with Muslims who are highly positioned in Indian society, not just the movie and cricket stars, but uber influential journalists like, M.J.Akbar and Rafiq Zakaria; historians like, Irfan Habib. politicians like, India;s external affairs minister of state and scores of others [of course she is well aware that an overhwlming majority of Indian Muslims are lagging on over development indicator], but I never meet their Pakistani Hindu counterparts, expect for a few tokens. Why?
I relate this here, because since I have been reading stuff online, including this excellent blog, I have yet to come across an opinion piece of any relevance by a Pakistani Hindu.
Jyoti, u nailed it! hats off to your post.