“I think the targeting has been very specific … and I think that sends a message by itself which is why the foreign secretary in his briefing this morning said that given the strikes hit locations in Punjab which is the location of the Pakistani military … it is not going to be easy for Pakistan to train finance and push them (terrorists) into India.”
Gautam Bambawale, former high commissioner to Pakistan and subsequently ambassador to China, believes that given the long history of the military there actively supporting terror groups, India has said clearly that if you don’t take action we will.
“I think that’s a very big signal, a very big message … if they react and escalate this situation they will face a similar sort of reaction from India.”
Bambawale was a guest on The Gist, and was clear in his view that nothing matters in Pakistan at this point other than what the army chief Gen Munir and the officers around him think. The people don’t matter, they have no voice.
As for China, he said “The relationship between China and Pakistan is described as higher than the mountains and deeper than the oceans, so the Chinese are backing Pakistan 100% on the diplomatic front.”
But that does not mean they will seek to stoke fires on the Line of Actual Control. The Chinese, says Bambawale, are hard headed and not prone to any emotional highs when it comes to ally or partner much less one like Pakistan.
The Line of Actual Control will continue to remain quiet but there will be no dilution of the force strength currently deployed against India. That will continue and in his view, to expect any major breakthrough in the bilateral relationship would not be realistic.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Gautam Bambawale, former high commissioner to Pakistan and ambassador to China.
