Pakistan Imploding: India cannot afford to remain Indifferent
STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS
Pakistan could be imploding. And the fallout from the mounting mess, writes Indranil Banerjie (analyst, columnist) “will inevitably splatter India.”
India involvement: various scenarios
India needs to respond, “but how it does so will depend on the nature of the crisis currently engulfing Pakistan. If it is only a blip in a long and troubled history, then remaining aloof might still be the best option, but if the crisis is of a systemic nature, then New Delhi’s response needs to be much more proactive…..
“The terminal nature of Pakistan’s problems demands decisive action. India’s involvement could be purely charitable but that is unlikely to help given that money is already being pumped in to stem Pakistan’s financial haemorrhage. Similarly, sweet words, shipments of medicine or food, and so on are unlikely to change anything. A far bigger endeavour is called for.”
If and when Pakistan’s state structure begins to crumble, in the opinion of Banerjie “New Delhi must be in a position to influence power centres in that country in order to hoist an alternative in place…..
“Towards this end, New Delhi must immediately begin covert and overt communications with various power groups within Pakistan to ascertain how they see events unfolding in their country and how best a democratic, equitable, federal system could be established in their country over the ruins of the defunct regime.
“The alternative could be the complete disintegration of Pakistan and a period of great distress that would cause untold suffering in that country and potentially injure India as well.”
This is therefore no time to sit back and watch the show. New Delhi must step in and forever extirpate the irredentist forces that have ruled Pakistan and eventually brought it to its knees, impelled by their sole ideological purpose -- the destruction of India.
India, concludes Banerjie “simply cannot afford to remain indifferent towards a vast wasteland extending from its western borders all the way to Central Asia and Iran, populated by ineffective state apparatuses, ungoverned ethnic warlords, fragile principalities and terrorist fiefdoms. It is in the interest of both New Delhi and the world at large to engineer a functioning but benign state in Pakistan.”
