It is a welcome development that India is determined this time around to step up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan in the wake of the Uri attack by undertaking a slew of measures that include boycotting the SAARC meet in Islamabad (“India steps up pressure, to boycott SAARC meet in Pak.”, Sept.28). While this move will expose Pakistan in the eyes of the international community as a rogue nation sponsoring cross-border terrorism, it will stand isolated eventually. To reinforce its offensive, India may also move the United Nations to impose economic sanctions against Pakistan.
P.K. Varadarajan,Chennai
A boycott by India will not end terrorism, but may threaten the very existence of the organisation itself which had the economic integration of South Asia as one of its objectives. Economic prosperity of the region can be a good tool in weakening terrorist activities. Instead of boycotting the meet, India should have sent a low-profile representative instead. New Delhi has struggled in the past to make SAARC a successful forum, and causing any harm to it is unwise. India can use the SAARC platform to reach out to peace-loving people in the region, including in Pakistan.
K. Muhammed Ismayil,Kozhikode
Some time from now, India is bound to realise the folly of what it mulls to upstage Pakistan. The decisions to review the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan, and now a boycott of the SAARC summit, appear to be desperate non-military measures. The distinction drawn by the Prime Minister between the people of Pakistan and the rulers of Pakistan gets blurred when denial of water and a trade ban are used as weapons of war by other means. The dynamics of geopolitics cannot be subsumed to the dynamics of internal politics without consequences difficult to cope with. A solution to the vexed Kashmir problem will go a long way towards taking the sting out of militancy. India and Pakistan are irreplaceable neighbours and have to work out a road map for peace and collaboration.
G. David Milton,Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
