Bold move on northern border, hesitancy in eastern frontier
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: May 08, 2025 -

ALONG with initiating conduct of full-scale civil defence mock drills across the country on Wednesday as part of the pre-emptive measures amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, India launched early morning air strikes on terrorist facilities in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, signifying that the government is ready to firmly deal with elements carrying out subversive activities on Indian soil.

Though number of casualties, if any, caused by the air strikes are yet to be ascertained officially, the attack has rung out a strong message to the hostile neighbours, perennial foe Pakistan in particular, not to cross the limit.

In view of the rising tension and escalating war narratives from the political class to the serving and retired military officers, the offensive against Pakistan, with special focus on terrorist training facilities in PoK, was on expected lines.

While a full-scale war between the hostile neighbours is most unlikely as global figures, human rights organisations and governments across the world are certain to intervene, one can't rule out the possibility of intense retaliatory action by Pakistan if one takes note of the fact that the Pakistani military had been rushing in men and war machinery towards the Indian border.

In view of the possible Pakistani counter-strike the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued directives to the states to conduct full-scale civil defence mock drills underscoring preparations by the government of India to respond befittingly to the brutal attack that killed 26 civilians, including 25 tourists, in jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22.

The global outrage against the merciless slaughtering of tourists demonstrated that all the citizens across the world see violence against innocent civilians as indefensible crime and are also wary about the growing insecurity from extremist elements.

Though people of Manipur would be hoping that the Indo-Pak tension and possible outbreak of full-scale conflict do not impact the tiny strife-torn state, one can't rest assured that nothing will happen here, especially taking into account that India's immediate neighbours on the eastern frontier - Myanmar and Bangladesh - have both been passing through a tumultuous phase, with some prominent figures of the latter country commenting antagonistically against India.

Moreover, with Chinese clout in both Myanmar and Bangladesh growing steadily, a conflict with Pakistan spilling over to the eastern and north-eastern borders cannot be ruled out.

However, like it or not, the bold and swift action taken against Pakistan for supporting terrorist outfits compared to reluctance in tackling extremist elements from across the border fomenting trouble in Manipur have the potential to widen the trust deficit between the state's masses and the central government.

If the air strikes were carried out in response to the killing of 26 civilians in Pahalgam, it is but natural that the people would wonder why the centre has been fretting over carrying out similar effective actions against those responsible for the brutal murder of innocent citizens, including women and children, in Manipur.

Thus, while conduct of the mock drills is intended to prepare the people to minimise casualties in a war scenario, such an exercise will definitely arouse suspicion on the centre's commitment to shield citizens of the landlocked state from both internal and external threats.