Challenge of the India policy

Once again tensions between Pakistan and India have risen to dangerous levels and the war hysteria has been whipped up in both the countries. Once again there is the serious risk of a miscalculation in the handling of the grave crisis confronting them because of the dastardly terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Since both Pakistan and India are nuclear powers, the consequences of a miscalculation can be catastrophic for both of them.
One would, therefore, hope that rationality would prevail and the leadership of the two countries would succeed in defusing tensions, arresting and punishing the culprits responsible for the Mumbai attacks, taking steps to prevent the recurrence of the terrorist attacks which are hurting them both, and putting the peace process back on track.
These objectives can be achieved only if Islamabad and New Delhi keep their lines of communication open and choose the path of cooperation rather than confrontation in overcoming the current crisis. India must avoid hurling threats at Pakistan which will merely aggravate the situation by playing into the hands of the hawks on both sides of the border.
The last thing that India and Pakistan need is the mobilisation of troops which will feed the war hysteria and increase the risk of a miscalculation by either side. If India is convinced that elements from Pakistan were responsible for the Mumbai attacks, it must provide credible evidence to the Pakistan government to enable the latter to take the requisite action against them. Obviously such action cannot be taken on the basis of mere conjecture and speculation or baseless allegations. The responsibilities of the Pakistan government in combating terrorism are self-evident in the light of the numerous regional and international agreements on the subject. It should not need prodding by India or by the international community to take stern action against the terrorist elements operating on or from its soil.
The fact that Pakistan itself has been a victim of the menace of terrorism makes it even more incumbent on the government to leave no stone unturned in eliminating this scourge. The frequency of the terrorist attacks in Pakistan shows that the performance of our security establishment, especially the intelligence agencies, in combating terrorism leaves a lot to be desired. Needless to add that India itself is also under the obligation to desist from terrorist activities in Pakistan or elsewhere in South Asia. One must practice what one preaches.
The challenge of the crafting of our India policy is, however, much bigger than the task of overcoming the current crisis in Pakistan-India relations. Since the very birth of Pakistan, its relations with India have been generally tense and occasionally hostile as reflected by the several wars and military confrontations between them. There have been two primary reasons for the discord between India and Pakistan: the Kashmir dispute and India's quest for hegemony in South Asia which was met with Pakistan's opposition.