NEW DELHI: India will have to inflict pain on Pakistan to force it to shutdown the terror infrastructure on its soil, said a former Indian envoy to Pakistan.
Satish Chandra, who was Ambassador to Pakistan in the late nineties and had served as Deputy National Security Advisor in the Vajpayee government, said “Terror outfits operating from Pakistan are state supported. Until and unless we inflict pain on Pakistan we are not going to achieve results.” The former diplomat was participating in a colloquium on Security Environment and Indian Business organised by the Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) here on Friday.
“We have a variety of options before us. Water, agriculture, covert action and economy are some of the options before us to get the results. You have other options as well,” Chandra said and warned that the desired results cannot be achieved with the sort of diplomacy India engages in.
On India’s efforts to enlist American support to tame Pakistan, Chandra pointed out that the US with all its leverage with Islamabad is not able to address its concerns and conflict in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Vice-Admiral K K Nayyar, who participated in the colloquium, said Pakistan was most vulnerable on the economic front and that should be exploited to effectively counter cross-border terrorism. He suggested putting in place sanctions and blocking the flow of water to Pakistan.
Equally important is the tightening of maritime security. Lt Gen (retd) N S Malik said “The most important thing is to inflict on the enemy the same pain suffered by the victims.” Abu Salesh Shariff, Chief Economist, International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, said in the immediate time-span investors confidence in India Inc might get eroded due to terror threats and global meltdown. This could reflect in reduced flow of foreign direct and portfolio investment into the country. However, as India has a strong multi-sectoral economy, the country would be more resilient than many other economies in the region.