Delinking Destiny from Geography : The Changing Balance of India−Pakistan Relations
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Author(s)
Thakur, Ramesh
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2011
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The November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai are analysed through six changing equations in India-Pakistan relations. The balance between military response and inaction is shifting towards the former. India has a vested but no longer critical interest in a strong and stable Pakistan. Pakistan's deniability has been based on separation between the government, army, ISI and terrorists whose plausibility is fading. To reverse the worsening security situation, Pakistan's military must be brought under full civilian control. Failing that, India will have to acquire the military capacity and political will to destroy the human ...
View more >The November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai are analysed through six changing equations in India-Pakistan relations. The balance between military response and inaction is shifting towards the former. India has a vested but no longer critical interest in a strong and stable Pakistan. Pakistan's deniability has been based on separation between the government, army, ISI and terrorists whose plausibility is fading. To reverse the worsening security situation, Pakistan's military must be brought under full civilian control. Failing that, India will have to acquire the military capacity and political will to destroy the human and material infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan. Finally, the rewards for Pakistan's contributions to the war on terror in Afghanistan exceed penalties for its fuelling of terror in India. The structure of incentives and penalties must be reversed.
View less >
View more >The November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai are analysed through six changing equations in India-Pakistan relations. The balance between military response and inaction is shifting towards the former. India has a vested but no longer critical interest in a strong and stable Pakistan. Pakistan's deniability has been based on separation between the government, army, ISI and terrorists whose plausibility is fading. To reverse the worsening security situation, Pakistan's military must be brought under full civilian control. Failing that, India will have to acquire the military capacity and political will to destroy the human and material infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan. Finally, the rewards for Pakistan's contributions to the war on terror in Afghanistan exceed penalties for its fuelling of terror in India. The structure of incentives and penalties must be reversed.
View less >
Journal Title
India Quarterly
Volume
67
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2012 SAGE Publications. This is the author-manuscript version of the paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
International Relations