The only lesson from Pakistan

On November 2, many Pakistani dailies carried names and pictures of eight Indian High Commission officials, alleging they were spies. The fact that this was “reiterated without any corroboration by Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs is against the Vienna Convention and also violates the norms of established diplomatic practice”, asserted external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in a written reply in the Parliament Wednesday, adding: “The allegations against Indian offi cials represent an afterthought on the part of Government of Pakistan.” The part about the ‘afterthought’ is obvious, given that the Pakistani exposure came a day after the expulsion of a visa offi cer at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.

He was caught accepting classifi ed information from two Indian associates. Since then, both sides have withdrawn eight offi cials and their families from their missions in New Delhi and Islamabad. A bilateral agreement stipulates that neither side can have more than 110 staffers in their diplomatic missions. Swaraj’s assertion comes at a time when matters have escalated way beyond tit for tat expulsions. The daily deaths and injuries due to cross-border shelling and fi ring, jingoistic chest thumping by both sides, and the beheading of an Indian trooper on Tuesday has led to calls for more punitive action against Pakistan.

The clamour is likely to increase. But that is probably what the Pakistani army and their Prime Minister Sharif are waiting for, so that they can use it to divert attention from their domestic problems, and also use it to draw international attention to Kashmir. Perhaps New Delhi could take a leaf out of Pakistan’s book. Take some dramatic action, but then, instead of boasting about it, deny any involvement. Or hint at ‘non-state’ actors, Pakistan’s euphemism for ISI lapdogs like the Jaish-e- Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba. What’s good for the goose… 

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