Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 30: Even as Pakistan accused India of planning to launch an attack on it on the basis of “baseless and concocted allegations” of its involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack, India is learnt to be making sure that making sure Pakistan pays dearly for the terror attack, not just by using military might this time but also by ensuring that the isolation of Pakistan is complete, official sources said on Wednesday.
Two powerful decision-making committees of the government met on Wednesday to discuss India’s response to Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism, after terrorists killed 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Tension is rising between the neighbours.
Pakistan Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar citing “credible intelligence” claimed on Wednesday that India was planning to carry out military action against it within the next 24 to 36 hours and warned New Delhi that “consequences” would follow. He also claimed the Indian government was preparing to launch the attack on the basis of “baseless and concocted allegations.”
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held a second meeting on Wednesday since the Pahalgam terror attack. The CCS in the first meeting took several steps aimed against Pakistan that included suspending the Indus Waters Treaty.
After the CCS meeting, another meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) began to discuss the Opposition’s request for a special session of parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack. After both the cabinet meetings got over, PM Modi held another meeting with top Union ministers to brief them about the discussions he had.
Opposition leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had written to PM Modi seeking a session of parliament to present a collective resolve against the terror attack. The CCS in its first meeting on April 23 had condemned the Pahalgam terror attack in the strongest terms and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
Officials who briefed the CCS brought out cross-border linkages of the terror attack.
The terrorists were against the successful election in Jammu and Kashmir, a Union Territory, and the region’s steady progress towards economic growth and development, the CCS was told. The locals also held massive protests against the terror attack, calling it a strike aimed at isolating the region by chasing away tourists and in turn stopping all economic activity. PM Modi affirmed that it was India’s resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism, sources said. He expressed complete faith and confidence in the professional abilities of the Indian armed forces.
Even as the cabinet meeting was on, government sources released some statistics to show that most countries in the world were as affected by Pakistan stoked terror as India is. As per the date released, it tells the world that none of them have been spared by Pakistan. UK, the 2005 London bombings, Iran, Moscow Concert Hall attack in 2024, are some instances.
As part of this diplomatic strategy, India is dialling world leaders to seek their support for any action plan. It’s important that India isolates Pakistan and shows it as a rogue nation, sending out a message that no one should be ready to do business with it. But more importantly, in case of military action, India would expect the world to be with it.
India has made it very clear that it has the prowess to take on Pakistan. Mr Modi’s meetings with the chief of defence staff, the chief of the armed forces, the defence minister Rajnath Singh and others was aimed at making it clear to Pakistan that India meant business and action would come soon.
Behind the scenes, India has been negotiating with countries like Israel, US, France for equipment to embolden its military resources. Interestingly, when the PM sent the word that armed forces would decide the time and scale of operations, it was also a message to the world that India was not like Pakistan where the Army calls the shots and that India is a democracy.
India is also believed to be planning economic strike, the most potent on Pakistan. The Indus Water Treaty being suspended has hurt Pakistan already in terms of its agriculture and water supply. Pakistan is facing food inflation and shortage. In the past one year, India-Pakistan trade has increased four times but it has been tilted in favour of India, being export surplus. India exports life-saving drugs, pharma, feritilsers and sugar. This being scrapped as well as e-commerce will hit Pakistan hard.
Not just this, third party routes like Dubai, too, are being monitored to ensure that Pakistan doesn’t export or trade through these routes. Dry dates, primarily produced in Pakistan, attract a steep 200 per cent import duty when imported directly. However, exporters often route shipments through intermediary destinations such as Dubai to circumvent these duties.
This is being addressed by Indian authorities, particularly in Gujarat, where dry date production is abundant. The move could significantly impact Pakistan’s dry date exports, which heavily rely on indirect routing to reach the Indian market.
Several actions have been taken against Pakistan-supporting YouTubers and social media handles. India’s advisory is clear, that rules of restraint and credibility which apply to India’s channels, apply to them as well. Apart from this, videos of past and present terror attacks stoked by Pakistan are also being curated to spread the word that Pakistan is peddling a false narrative and that this is the information dossier which exposes Pakistan as a rogue nation.
With Pakistan repeatedly resorting to ceasefire violation, sixth on Tuesday since the Pahalgam attack, with the Indian army retaliating swiftly, India has also strongly dismissed Pakistan’s latest claims making it clear that the Indian Army did not operate with the mindset alleged by the DG ISPR.
They pointed out that the Pakistani Army has “adequate numbers of disgruntled officers and men” who are unhappy with the current regime and the functioning of the army itself, suggesting that such internal rifts could be a motive for terror attacks occurring within Pakistan’s borders.
Sources added that while the Indian Army was a truly national force, the Pakistani Army was essentially a Punjabi-dominated regional force. As a result, individuals from other provinces who feel marginalised or persecuted by the Pakistani Army could well be responsible for retaliatory acts.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani military diplomats, expelled by India, left India along with their staffers on Wednesday.
