Modi at it again

Halfway through his tenure Indian Prime Minister Modi is at pains to externalise his internal discomforts and cramps. There is this intifada in Held Kashmir which refuses to die down; in fact it has gained momentum and spread out much beyond the limits of Srinagar. Then there is the growing rejection of Modi's style of governance. Not only has his antics on economic front - change of currency notes being one - has cost him public confidence, he is also beset with the prospect of electoral debacle in upcoming elections in half a dozen states. And how to win over the Trump-headed administration is yet another worry. So Narendra Modi is tilting at the windmills, and in that there is no question about his ability to shift his guilt onto others, particularly Pakistan. But there he gets paid for a good measure. Modi's diatribe at the recently-held BRICS summit needs to be condemned without any reservations. He had called Pakistan the "mothership of terrorism", and drew parallels between India and Israel and between Kashmir and Palestine. That is how he is seeking to divert global attention from Indian atrocities on the people of Held Kashmir. It is, however, a matter of some satisfaction that the international community refuses to buy the Indian propaganda. The global community, for example, strongly rejected the Israeli position on Palestine at the Paris conference. Even when the world finds itself helpless in enforcing the UN Security Council resolutions for a plebiscite in Kashmir it refuses to accept Modi's claim to equate Kashmiris' ongoing intifada with 'Pakistan-sponsored terrorism'. The Senate reminded the world that Pakistan has fought terrorism like no other country has a fact recognised by no less than the prestigious World Economic Forum where General Raheel Sharif has been invited as a special guest speaker on Pakistan's singular success against terrorism.
Given the recent spurt of anti-Pakistan jingoism in New Delhi, the Senate resolution is also aptly on time. If Modi is blessed with 'Chanakya' mindset the new Indian army chief is not short on war-mongering. Indian army chief was desperately seeking to lift the morale of his troops in Held Kashmir who find themselves unequal to the Kashmiris' determination to persevere in their struggle for freedom. But should he undertake that risk Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has a message for him: "Let me assure the house and the people of Pakistan that if India ever tried a genuine strike (the ones earlier claimed by India were fake), Pakistan's armed forces would respond in a manner that India will forget its claims of false strikes".