Congress, keep mum to silence belligerent Pakistan

While Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi chose National Sports Day to launch the 'Fit India' movement so that people can keep themselves healthy by exercising, Pakistan is deliberately trying to escalate tensions across the border.

Pakistan, which miserably failed to internationalise the Kashmir issue at both military and diplomatic levels, is now trying to create an impression it could go in for war with India.

I don't think Pakistan would indulge in misadventure of going in for full-fledged war with India but at the same time one cannot expect it to behave like a "normal neighbour" as Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had put it.

We have seen how tensions between both the countries have been getting escalated since August 5 when the Modi government revoked special status to Jammu and Kashmir under the Indian Constitution and designated Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as two separate Union Territories.

Unfortunately, the Congress was a divided house and had the seniors had to battle the comment of youngsters who appeared to be progressive enough in supporting the decision of the Centre.

This confused stand of the Congress which felt that politics is static at least as far as Kashmir issue is concerned had come handy for the neighbours to make unnecessary noise at various international fora including the United Nations Security Council.

Against the backdrop of this situation, the missile test by Pakistan is being seen as yet another effort to keep the issue burning and continue to draw the attention of the international community on the region.

Pakistan also has the Ghauri and Shaheen series of medium range ballistic missiles in its inventory with 2,750 kilometre being the longest range of the Shaheen III, and battlefield range missiles in its arsenal.

But then it very well knows that India has greater war power but still it wants to keep the heat on and try and divert the attention of the not only international community but also India from other activities and as part of the strategy it has been making weird threats.

Pakistan's Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad's talk of possibility of full-fledged war between the two countries on October or November this year and the earlier talk of possible nuclear war is all part of the same exercise.

One thing that needs to be observed here is that Pakistan was making all this noise more because of the pressure from military which continues to hold control over the government.

However, India too should not forget that the neighbour would not confine to just making noise. That is where India and all those responsible for internal security need to be on high alert. Pakistan is known not only for making irresponsible statements but also indulge in trying to unleash terror.

According to intelligence inputs, Pakistani commandos may infiltrate through sea route using "small boats" to create "communal disturbance or terrorist attack" in Gujarat.

Sources said that BSF and Indian Coast Guard along with other security agencies have been put on high alert. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh indicated that an underwater wing of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) is training people to carry out attacks in India.

He said all stakeholders in coastal security are ensuring that there is no intrusion from the sea. In fact, it is suspected that Pakistan trained commandos have entered Gulf of Kutch through the Harami Nala creek and they are well trained in underwater attacks.

This alert by intelligence needs to be taken seriously for two reasons. This region has many critical installations, including the world's largest oil refinery at Jamnagar run by Reliance Industries and also a similar facility operated by Russian giant Rosneft at Vadinar. It also has Mundra port run by Adanis.

Secondly, the alert comes just couple of days before the Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra which will be followed by Navratri celebrations from September 29.

While Ganesh Chaturthi is a major festival in the western region, Navaratri is a major festival when the entire Gujarat would be reverberating with festivities and large-scale celebrations in the form of Dandia would be held and would be a major tourist attraction. This would be followed by Rann Utsav in Kutch.

This festival attracts large number of foreign and domestic tourists. During this period, Kutch, one of the most ecologically and ethnically diverse districts of the State, would be showcasing a plethora of varied hues, profusion of design, superfluity of culture, cornucopia of music and dance, all together creating a mosaic of exquisiteness which reflects the identity and spirit of the region.

During the full moon night of the winters amid the awe-inspiring and contrasting landscape, each year a three-day festive extravaganza brimming with hospitality, vigour and traditional flavour of the area is hosted and known as the Kutch or Rann Utsav.

One would hope that keeping the serious implications involved in the issue, political parties particularly the Congress, would realise the importance of not making any comments that could lead to more complications.

The Congress would be doing great service if it concentrates in setting its house in order which is in shambles. Despite several meetings, small and big, to date it had failed to find a successor to Rahul Gandhi as AICC president.

Bickering in Madhya Pradesh unit is getting louder and louder and Kamalnath appears to be finding it difficult to handle the situation. Young leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia who have been supporting the government's move on Article 370 are not being allowed to be in the top order to take the party forward.

If the party has to save itself from becoming redundant in the political arena, it needs to take some quick measures and reinvent itself. Till then, it should forget about major issues like Article 370.