India is one step ahead of us as always. We love our conspiracy theories, from denying the moon landing ever happened, to calling Malala Yousafzai an American agent, but India has taken the cake this week. In the latest of BJP gaffs that is just another instance of war mongering, it has claimed that an exploding smuggling ship was a terrorist plot, though Indian newspapers have already reported that it was probably a ship smuggling goods, diesel and liquor as usual.
So while the Indians cry bloody murder, again, Islamabad is not even sure that the incident happened at all; it has not been able to independently verify the wholly Indian account since everyone on the boat died. The National Technical Research Organisation had intercepted mobile phone traffic involving small-time smugglers operating out of the fishing port of Keti Bandar, near Karachi, so it was probably smugglers. But the BJP on Friday complimented its armed forces for foiling a bid similar to the 26/11 terror attacks off the Gujarat Coast. It is like India fought and won a battle with Pakistan, that Pakistan was totally unaware of. This is typical BJP strategy, the creation of fear among its people, based on right wing Hindutva ideology to use as fodder for anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan policies.
Pakistan has to be very careful, and it seems to be playing the game right. India is constantly provoking us, in an attempt to create a charge sheet to show to President Obama when he visits. Any aggressive response by Pakistan will be interpreted as evidence, no matter how much of the blame is on India. We have a black mark on us, and Modi just had a superstar reception in the US. As the economically, militarily and politically weaker state, we can’t compete. It is best to try to make amends, and more importantly, be seen as making amends.
With the irresponsible behaviour of the BJP and its hurried baseless statements, who is going to believe the Indian story after what they have done on the border? But then the masses are gullible. India is looking for an entry into regional politics and hurting from the effects of the recent counter-terrorism operations by the Pakistan army. They have lost a lot of potential assets on the Afghan border but they cannot openly announce this, thus this farcical attempt at retribution. So, next time a car crashes and catches fire in India, it was probably a bomb, and probably a Pakistani terrorist plot.