OPPOSITION leader in India, Rahul Gandhi, alleged in Parliament on July 29, that the entire exercise named Operation Sindoor was carried out only to protect the image of PM Modi (as India’s watchman or ‘chowkidar’) and to promote his petty politics and public relations’ .

This was a dangerous policy, he said. He further stated that Modi and his government were clueless about the notion of deterrence which they had turned upside down. He lamented the ‘new normal’ of the Indian Government that now considers terrorist attacks, as acts of war.

This, he pointed out was tantamount to enabling and handing over the initiative to start a war, to terrorists at any time they want, with disastrous outcomes. He claimed that isolating Pakistan from China was always their foreign policy objective, however, Operation Sindoor had ‘fused together China and Pakistan, to the detriment of India. He inquired why no country had held Pakistan responsible for the Pahalgam attack. All these were pertinent comments; however, he forgot that Pakistan had offered a neutral and independent inquiry that India ignored, while India hadn’t provided any credible evidence to corroborate allegations of blaming Pakistan for the attacks.

Further, despite demand by the people, India hasn’t apportioned any blame for the major security lapses at Pahalgam so far. But what wasn’t allowed or mentioned in the Indian Parliament is equally ominous: First; that Indian politicians could now orchestrate terrorist attacks for ulterior political motives themselves with impunity, but blame it on others conveniently. Second; that something........

© Pakistan Observer