Indus Waters Treaty is an ace up India’s sleeves
Indus Waters Treaty, a water distribution pact signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan is surely an ace up India’s sleeves in these turbulent times when our neighbour has relentlessly been unleashing terror attacks and proxy war on our soil, and caused loss of precious human lives.
Despite thriving on our largesse all these years, Pakistan has deliberately chosen to be not only oblivious of India’s magnanimity all these years, but has sardonically been wreaking havoc by perpetrating militant attacks at regular intervals in J&K. The Pathankot terror attacks carried out earlier this year, and the more recent Uri attacks speak volumes about the nefarious intent of Pakistan.
In the light of all this, it has thus become imperative for the government of the day to seriously review the Indus Waters pact which in simple language has been India’s generosity extended towards Pakistan all these years.
The country of 1.2 billion needs to be on one page to support the stance taken by those at the helm. That said, the government in power too needs to take all the opposition parties into confidence on foreign policy matters especially those concerning Pakistan and China. No sooner did the Uri attacks happened, than the opposition started slamming the PM’s foreign policy approach with Pakistan, in the process forgetting that some of them too had extended the olive branch to their neighbour when they were at the helm. Anyways the onus at the present is not to get engrossed in a mudslinging match, but to more significantly realize the present options that India has, and to safeguard the interests of its citizens.
Aggressive stance is the need of the hour to put brakes on Pakistan getting emboldened with every terror attack. But, waging a war against Pakistan at this juncture would certainly not be a feasible option as being suggested by some war veterans or leaders. This because even if one side wins and the other looses, a war in the real sense inflicts humongous economic damage to both sides. It would be preposterous to believe that the economy of the winning nation in a war does not take a beating.
In the light of all this, reviewing the age old Indus Waters pact seems to be the best bet that India seems to be having to bring Pakistan to the table on its terms, and keep it on tenterhooks. Additionally, reviewing the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ (MFN) status accorded to Pakistan too seems to be an incredible idea. On the global front, this will hurt Pakistan the most, and make them realize their undoing’s all these years.
While some opposition party leaders and peaceniks want the government to teach Pakistan a tough lesson in their own language, the same leaders vehemently oppose any move to review the Indus Waters pact and the MFN status accorded to Pakistan. The double speak on such sensitive matters is perplexing indeed especially as it concerns the country’s security.
The fact that some segments in the country prefer to maintain an ambiguous stance viz a viz Indus Waters pact makes it difficult to understand their real position.
Experts perceive the Indus Waters Treaty to be a real ‘blessing in disguise’ for India as it would compel Pakistan to change its core policy of terror and turbulence towards India.
Meanwhile India boycotting the SAARC too is a welcome step by the government in the present day scenario.
