Aur Kya, Pak?

So after all the best efforts from our side, Aman ki Asha has turned into a Nirasha. I am saying ‘our side’ because I am not sure about the other side. In the past several months, columnists and bloggers have been debating over how to deal with our wayward neighbouring state, which has gone from strength to super-strength in the field of new-age worldwide terrorism – from setting up training camps to nurturing masterminds drawn from military bodies to plan and execute terrorist attacks on innocent civilians and yet escape from international action of the UN, by calling them actions of “non-state actors”!

This ‘non-state actors’ card of Pak, put us Indians in a dharma-sankat of sorts. How can any country fight another, if their home-grown, but not state-sponsored mind you - terrorist outfits - act spontaneously and attack innocent people in other countries? It would need to distinguish between the people of that country from the unlawful terrorist outfits thriving therein. Wont they? While some of us have been insisting that dialogues with Pakistan must continue, others have been sceptical about the “lets talk” proposal, demanding tougher options and discarding it as a sign of weakness.

Some have argued that when we say we must talk, does not mean we must speak “sweet nothings”, but instead talk – talk tough – demand action on terrorists – put a stop to the only visible exports from that country – of fully trained, highly motivated, trigger-happy jihadi youngsters, who have no other options to earn a living. So that is what most of those who wanted talks wished the negotiating team to do – talk tough!

“Stop it – or else…….” Or else, what, one wonders?

Reminds me of a joke about a Texan cowboy who rode on his horse to a wayside inn for a drink and meal and then went off to sleep. When he woke up, he found that his horse had been stolen! He climbed to the rooftop of the wayside inn, fired a round into the sky and shouted “Hey listen you guys! If you don’t return my horse, I will do, what I did in Texas!”.
Nobody turned up with his horse. After delivering the threat on a higher pitch couple of times, he returned to his seat to find the owner of the Inn waiting to ask him “What did you do in Texas, Sir?” “Well” he replied, pulling his hat over his face, “I walked back home!”.

Our situation is no different. We want them to sit up and listen and to take action on what they call ‘non-state actors’. But how committed are they to do it? If the leads from the investigation of David Coleman Headley, were to be believed, we could now say that the officials of the ISI were involved in the terrorism attack on Mumbai. If this is proved….hey wait, but Pakistan will demand evidence - something that their eyes are not designed to spot, even if it were to stare in their face…. that would mean they also have “State Actors” playing along “Non-State Actors”!

Indians will have debates, more debates, talks, and more talks. Some experts are still saying we should continue to have people to people contacts. Sure we can continue our pak-pak, as we usually do over cellphones - never hang up and ask “Aur kya?”, "Aur bata" - It will keep us talking forever!

So there you are –
Pak has “Non-state actors” and “State actors”
India has “State non-actors” and “Non-State non-actors”!
And Pak knows that!

Blogger’s Post-script – Like the remaining Billions of Indians, yours truly is equally at his wits’ end about how to deal with Pak. Without really wanting to hurt any of those, who think they know, of course!