'Coercive diplomacy' favors India<\/p>\n
Anuradha Nagaraj, Deutche Presse-Agentur, New Delhi<\/p>\n
Over the years, most countries had stopped listening. But then
\nsuddenly, after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United
\nStates, India's voice became audible again, and this time the
\nentire globe was listening.<\/p>\n
Taking advantage of the international coalition against
\nterrorism, India embarked on a diplomatic tightrope walk,
\ngarnering support for its own fight against what it calls
\nterrorism in Indian-controlled areas of divided Kashmir.<\/p>\n
\"Delhi is attracted by the possibility that a formal Indo-U.S.
\nalliance would mean the final burying of the Kashmir issue, to
\nIndia's advantage,\" India Today reported in January, quoting
\nanalysts.<\/p>\n
For a decade, despite provocations, India had not extended its
\ncounterinsurgency operations onto Pakistani soil. But in the
\ncorridors of power in New Delhi after Sept. 11, a whole new range
\nof possibilities to deal with terrorism in Kashmir were
\ndiscussed, including an all-out war with Pakistan.<\/p>\n
India has always accused neighboring Pakistan of \"funding and
\nsupporting\" terrorist groups. It has also alleged that its fellow
\nnuclear power was running terrorist training camps.
\nFor its part, Pakistan has said it only gives moral support to
\nthe \"freedom fighters\" in Kashmir and has repeatedly denied
\nIndian accusations.<\/p>\n
Despite allegations and counter-allegations, India never
\ncrossed the ceasefire line of control, which divides the disputed
\nregion of Kashmir, to raid terrorist camps it believed were
\nPakistan-based.<\/p>\n
But such a limited Indian attack on Pakistani territory became
\na real threat as India coped with the rapidly unfolding events
\nafter Sept. 11.<\/p>\n
For India, it began with a terrorist attack on the Indian
\nparliament on Dec. 13. That machine-gun and grenade attack gave
\nIndia the opportunity to launch a new strategy in its war against
\nterrorism as it drew immediate parallels between it and the Sept.
\n11 attacks in New York and Washington.<\/p>\n
Terrorists had struck at the symbol of Indian democracy, and
\nin a television address, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari
\nVajpayee said the \"battle against terrorism has reached its last
\nphase\" and India would \"fight a decisive battle to the end\".
\nWhat followed brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war -
\ntwice.<\/p>\n
Even before the Indian army marched to the border and was told
\nto be prepared for a final battle, analysts had predicted that
\nIndia would use the \"Bush ploy\" with Pakistan.<\/p>\n
India did. It told Pakistan in no uncertain terms that \"cross-
\nborder\" terrorism would have to end. The move was similar to the
\nAmerican president's warnings to Afghanistan's former ruling
\nTaliban regime to hand over al-Qaeda terrorists: \"Either you
\nbring them to justice, or justice will be brought to them.\"<\/p>\n
And all through December, as the troop build-up along the
\nIndian- Pakistan border continued, the world waited for \"India's
\nversion of America's Operation Enduring Freedom\". The moment
\npassed, but tensions continued to simmer.<\/p>\n
India's \"coercive diplomacy\" kept up the pressure, and many
\nobservers hailed it as a success.<\/p>\n
Experts said India's biggest gain was Pakistani President
\nPervez Musharraf's crackdown on terrorist camps and his assurance
\nto the world that there would be no infiltration across the line
\nof control. India also managed to persuade the world to ban some
\nof the main terrorist groups operating in Kashmir. However,
\nthings flared up again in May after an attack on an Indian army
\ncamp in Kashmir, in which 32 people, mainly women and children,
\nwere killed.<\/p>\n
Indian leaders continued to talk tough, firmly ruling out a
\nwithdrawal of troops from the border and rejecting offers for
\ntalks from Pakistan until infiltration permanently ended.
\nAs the standoff threatened to erupt into war again, foreign
\ndiplomats, mainly American and British, frequently visited the
\ntwo countries to try to defuse the tension.<\/p>\n
While India stuck to its stand on Pakistan, new ties were
\nforged on military cooperation with the United States. The latest
\nstand-off between India and Pakistan is now eight months old, and
\nstate assembly elections in Indian-controlled Kashmir in
\nSeptember are seen as a possible turning point in the region.<\/p>\n
But India's aggressive posture has slackened a bit under
\ninternational pressure to reduce tension with its nuclear
\nneighbor, and at present, the Indian government is happy to just
\nkeep the war of words going.<\/p>",
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