Diplomatic offensive: On Nagrota encounter and after

India did well to highlight the terror threat from Pakistan amid steps along the border

By apprising the international community, it would seem the government has a multi-pronged strategy. The first imperative is to ensure that the full implications of the aborted attack and what could have occurred are understood worldwide, and the threat India continues to face from cross-border terror is acknowledged. In addition, any actions India takes against terror threats the Army perceives along the LoC this point on will be considered retaliatory. The second is to put Pakistan, which has itself been making allegations about a terror threat from India, squarely on notice. Pakistan still faces the final FATF decision in February 2021 on whether it will be blacklisted for its inability to curb terror financing and to shut down groups such as the JeM and the LeT, and the Imran Khan government would be better positioned in fulfilling the action plan it has been tasked with rather than flashing unsubstantiated dossiers with counter-claims against India. However, the Modi government must also remember that invoking the international community can be a double-edged sword in its bilateral conflict with Pakistan, that could invite discomforting interventionary interest. Eventually, India’s success lies in protecting its borders, as done in Nagrota, and by providing a peaceful and stable environment in J&K so as to restart the much-delayed democratic process there, despite all attempts to derail it.

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