the gory killing of Indian soldiers at Mendhar by Pak

The country that shares our borders and our history has never been kind with us. It is not that India-Pakistan bilateral relations have suddenly hit a major road bump. Pakistan Army capped its continued string of gross violations of the decade-old ceasefire with a highly provocative and unacceptable act when its troops crossed the Line of Control in the Mendhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday and killed two jawans of the Indian Army after a half-an-hour gun battle. Before retreating to their side of the LoC, the Pakistani troops mutilated the body of one of the two killed Indian Army men. The two soldiers who laid down their lives have been identified as  Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh

This simply is not provocation, but a challenge, this is another type ~ different from harbouring terrorists, fanning militancy here and the types of Mumbai carnage of 26/11.  The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the highest decision-making body of the Government of India on all issues pertaining to national security, is likely to be convened by the Prime Minister to discuss this along with some other important issues.

Extremely sad and sickening to read the ghastly killing of the Indian soldiers by slitting their throats ~ gruesome and inhumane act.. hurting more than the ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops.  There are reports that Pakistani soldiers, apparently from the 29 Baloch Regiment, took advantage of a dense fog to sneak into an Indian post in Sona Gali area in the border district of Poonch. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is quoted as stating  that the government will make it clear to Pakistan that the action of its troops was absolutely unacceptable and it needed answers.   There are some calls that talks with Pakistan should be called off while Congress said that Pakistan owes an explanation.  The timing of the latest Pakistani provocation is both queer and significant. It has come soon after the Indo-Pakistan cricket series in India has ended.

It is yet another categorical demonstration that none of the so called goodwill gestures will be reciprocated.  India bent on their knees to help the ailing Pak Cricket board and went out of the way to grant visa to Pakistani former cricketer Javed Miandad, related to  “global terrorist” Dawood Ibrahim. This is no madness but methodical killing and disturbance of peace process by Pakistanis ~ whether India starts bus transportation across the border or it is cricket diplomacy !

From across the border, the savagery is nothing new or nothing totally unexpected.  It was a message to the peaceniks and to India, that Pak can kill at will and barbarically at that.   The way they treated the dead bodies of Indian soldiers is inhuman,’’ said Defence Minister AK Antony. Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid termed the mutilation ‘ghastly’ and ‘extremely distressing’. And everytime, you will have a ruling politician blabber something and this time it was the talk of  `proportionate reaction’ to the act from India.

The response from Islamabad has been on predicted lines. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has already denied the role of Pakistan’s Army in the incident and said they’re willing to accept a third-party probe into the matter.  All know that nothing of any sort would ever happen.  So what is that ‘proportionate reaction’ ?  At a time, when things are not accountable here, what is that being tried  ~ the ground is familiar and perhaps the reaction also is and that leads the country nowhere……..

There is no point in diplomacy and talks of confidence building measures, when our soldiers are bleeding, that too attack made inside our frontier….  While it is for the Govt. to take stern measures, there is no point in entertaining the Pakis elsewhere. Keep them away, marginalize them, isolate them economically and socially ~ why have trade with a hostile Nation ? and more why sports ?? Remember, no country tours Pak after that attack on 3rd Mar 2009 ~ on that day a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a larger convoy, was fired upon by 12 gunmen, near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The cricketers were on their way to play the third day of the second Test against the Pakistani cricket team. Six members of the Sri Lanka national cricket team were injured. Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed.  Teams have not been touring Pak since and even the not so powerful Bangladesh Cricket Board announced recently  that it had shelved on safety grounds a planned cricket tour of Pakistan. 

The powerful BCCI is so benevolent to enrich the coffers of Pak Board that it organized a cricket tour of Pak.  During the match at Kolkatta, Harsha Bogle commented that the Pak players were extremely cordial and appeared so friendly; remember the words uttered by Afridi and others, immediately after their loss in WC 2011…………. ~ now individual players will certainly try to display friendliness, with IPL 6 in the offing, in the hope of a contract and ‘good money’ 

With sadness

S. Sampathkumar.