EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE DELHI THE HINDU 6 EDITORIAL TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2020 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE The right lessons from Pulwama and Balakot The events of February 2019 need to be extricated from the electoral straitjacket and boastful political utterances minary at Balakot in Khyber­ Pak­ professionally respected force but of Control (LoC) at launchpads. htunkhwa province of Pakistan, a partisan act in support of one Neither the surgical strike of 2016 Threat or treat avenging the suicide car bomb in political party. In a healthy de­ nor the Balakot air strike have in­ Pulwama 12 days earlier that led to mocracy, apolitical armed forces fused deterrence or altered Pakis­ The final agreement of RCEP covers the death of 40 Central Reserve are supposed to follow the elected tan’s policies, whether in the Kash­ various issues that India had flagged Police Force personnel. On the government’s lawful orders but do miri hinterland or on the LoC, Sushant Singh morning of February 27, the Pakis­ not work to further the partisan where Indian security forces per­ he Regional Comprehensive Economic Partner­ tan Air Force attempted its riposte aims of the ruling party — that sonnel continue to lose their lives. ship (RCEP) was signed into existence on Sunday in Jammu and Kashmir, and in the would be more in tune with China, However, the Balakot air strike Tby 15 countries led by China, Japan, South Korea, he ghost of Pulwama and Ba­ ensuing aerial combat, Wg. Cdr. where the armed forces are loyal was definitely a punitive move, a Australia, New Zealand and the 10­state ASEAN group­ lakot (picture) has been exor­ Abhinandan was captured by the to the Communist Party and not tactical act, which demonstrated ing, creating one of the world’s largest trading blocs. Tcised nearly 20 months after Pakistan military. the Chinese state. India’s willingness to cross the Noticeable by its absence was India, which after sev en the twin events happened (2019). On February 28, Pakistan Prime REUTERS Military veterans and national­ threshold of using air power In Pakistan, former S peaker and Minister Imran Khan announced rorist attack on the Parliament. ist commentators, quick to take of­ against Pakistan, that too on its years of protracted negotiations decided last November Opposition MP, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, in Parliament that he was releas­ fence to any perceived slights on mainland. The target audience, as to exit the grouping. India had justified its decisio n as alleged in the Pakistan National ing the Indian fighter pilot and The conduct of the forces behalf of the uniformed, have con­ evident in hindsight, was largely protecting its economy from burgeoning trade deficits Assembly last month that the PTI sending him back home “as a If there are some unanswered veniently ignored this grave mis­ domestic — the voters at the poll­ with a majority of the 15 RCEP members and had cited government, fearing an imminent peace gesture”. questions about Pulwama suicide demeanour of the IAF during an ing booth, who responded the grouping’s refusal to accede to its requests on safe­ missile strike from India, had cap­ bombing, the questions about the election campaign. Unless correct­ approvingly. guards as a deal breaker. Those reasons were on the itulated and released the captured Aspects about Pulwama Balakot air strike have, more or ed, this would set a wrong prece­ face of it justifiable at the time and were welcomed by Indian fighter pilot, Wing Com­ The full details of backroom hap­ less, been answered by foreign go­ dent for the armed forces and its Gravity of the crisis mander Abhinandan Varthaman. penings between the suicide car vernments and international me­ senior leadership. Two decades The real focus from February 27 industry, trade and farmers’ groups. However, 12 The allegation was denied by the bombing of February 14 and Wg. dia. Those answers are unflatter­ ago, the then Army Chief, General last year should be on the Indian months down the road, India’s opting out appears far Pakistan government and the all­ Cdr. Abhinandan’s return on ing to the professional image of V.P. Malik, had lodged a strong threat and Pakistani counter­ more debatable in terms of its economic rationale. With powerful military, and even Mr. March 1 are not publicly available the IAF: from actually hitting the complaint with Prime Minister threat of firing missiles at each global trade and the economy foundering on the shoals Sadiq partially backtracked within but 20 months later, there is defi­ designated targets to providing Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the other, an escalatory move that of the COVID­19 pandemic, especially as new infections a day, but it brought the spotlight nitely greater clarity. Even though proof of the destruction, the IAF is Kargil war about the use of the im­ could have taken the conflict into in Europe and the U.S. prompt fresh restrictions there, back on an incident where the two a video of the suicide bomber was seen to have lost the battle of the ages of three service chiefs on the uncharted territory. That the sit­ the pre­eminence of the east Asian and Pacific coun­ nuclear­armed neighbours were released by the Jaish­e­Muham­ narrative to its Pakistani counter­ Bharatiya Janata Party’s election uation was serious is recognised threatening a military escalation. mad, there have been constant part — not that a fumbling and posters. While the crumbling of in­ from the urgent interventions by tries including China, South Korea, Vietnam, Austral ia whispers about certain aspects of bumbling Pakistan military was stitutions like Parliament, the judi­ the United States, the United King­ and New Zealand serving as a bulwark in containing the Overtaken by politics the Pulwama terror attack. Those anywhere near perfect, making ciary and the media in recent dom and others that night who pandemic and re­energising economic activity can The revival of the focus on Pulwa­ questions have not been answered ridiculous claims. The perfor­ years has earned a lot of attention, pressed on both the governments hardly be understated. Add to this the heightened tariff ma and Balakot provides us with satisfactorily, even after the mance of the IAF in aerial combat scholars have been shy of making to step back. Narendra Modi’s uncertainty generated by the deadlocked Brexit nego­ an opportunity for an honest ap­ 13,800­page National Investigation the next day, where it claims to robust enquiries about the con­ election campaign speech about tiations between Britain and the E.U., and it becomes praisal of the incident. Unfortu­ Agency charge sheet was filed in have shot down a Pakistan Air duct of the armed forces, an insti­ the incident, claiming that nuclear evident that India may have missed a vital opportunity. nately, this happened in the midst August and a Pakistani Minister, Force F­16 fighter jet, has been re­ tution even more critical to the weapons were not kept for Diwali, of the Bihar election campaign, Fawad Chaudhry, last month ceived with scepticism in most health of Indian democracy. points to the gravity of the crisis. Given that the RCEP members now account for about and in a throwback to the parlia­ claimed, and immediately back­ western capitals. Wg. Cdr. Abhi­ That the two countries could dees­ 30% of the global GDP and a third of the world’s popula­ mentary polls last year, an event of tracked from his country’s involve­ nandan’s defiant behaviour in Pa­ Claims, facts and the audience calate so quickly is a positive sign tion, the signatory states were emphatic that the timing strategic importance was only ment in the suicide bombing. The kistani custody deserved the Chief of Defence Staff General Bi­ but the fact that any miscreant of the accord presents a unique opportunity to support seen through the narrow political responsibility for the intelligence praise that came his way, but the pin Rawat claimed on November 6 with a few kilos of explosive and their economic recovery, inclusive development and prism of its electoral utility for the failure, violation of standard oper­ fact remains that the IAF came se­ that the Balakot strike had sent a an old car can bring these two nu­ job creation even as it helps strengthen regional supply ruling party. The events of Febru­ ating procedures by security forc­ cond best that morning, as it lost a strong message that Pakistan no clear weapon states to the brink of chains. Interestingly, among the ASEAN signatories are ary 2019 need to be extricated es and the possible involvement of fighter aircraft and the pilot ended longer enjoys impunity of pushing war should leave us worried. The from the electoral straitjacket to disgraced Jammu and Kashmir in Pakistani custody. terrorists into India under the nu­ current shenanigans in Pakistan’s several relatively far smaller economies including Viet­ draw the right lessons.