| Summary/Abstract |
Former President of Pakistan General Zia-ul-Haq once said, “Proxy wars are necessary to ‘keep the pot boiling”. Pakistan, with the help of terror organisations and separatists, has ensured that conflict in Jammu and Kashmir becomes a conflict trap for India. Pakistan is in a position to cause relapse of the conflict to deny space for dialogue and reconciliation whenever situation appears to become near normal. It is imperative to understand that gestation period for conflict resolution under such circumstances is long and thus the objective should be to adopt structured approach to achieve enduring peace. Though there may be a debate whether we are winning this war or it has reached a stage of stalemate, but strategy certainly is not failing in its entirety. Institutions of governance and democratic process have not collapsed and the instability has been restricted to Kashmir valley by sustained military operations and administrative initiatives. Though there may be a requirement to reorient and review the overall strategy, but the bottom line is to ensure that the terror organisations are made powerless and denied public and private space. Pulwama attack has displayed how brutal terrorists can be; however, this strategy is likely to bounce back on terror organisations and sooner or later genuine resentment among the masses against the acts of extreme brutality will rise. Emergence of new political wave is a welcome step and may challenge main stream political parties. This could be seen as the rise of youth against the dynastic politics and may bridge the gap between the youth and the State. Overall objective of the state should be to ensure that people feel empowered rather than disempowered.
|