Over the years much hue and cry has been raised in the international community, spearheaded by American and Indian propaganda, about the remote prospect of Pakistani nukes ending in rogue hands. The recent statement by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about shunning nuclear deterrence, however, vouches for the fact that Indian nukes have already fallen into the hands of what Prime Minister Imran Khan calls a “fascist” and “racist” government in Delhi. Prime Minister Khan has invited the attention of the world towards the safety and security of India’s nuclear arsenal under the Modi government as “this is an issue that impacts not just the region but the world”. The Indian minister chose the occasion of the first death anniversary of former prime minister Vajpayee to announce that the no-first-use policy for nukes would now depend on circumstances. Ironically, it was the late Vajpaee who had announced the no-first-use doctrine. The Indian defence minister’s assertion is a careless statement, without any context, igniting the threat of a nuclear arms race in the region. It shows how India under the Modi government is tarnishing the ideologies of Gandhi, Nehru and now Vajpaee. Nukes, as a matter of principle, are for deterrence, or for punitive retaliation. The Bharatiya Janata Party had indicated changing the nuclear doctrine in its manifesto in 2014, and now it is unfolding its ugly intentions. The world must seek an explanation from India in this context.
Pakistan, on the hand, has always been following nuclear deterrence principles; it was forced to go for nukes in 1998 after India jolted the world, and of course the region, with its nuclear tests, making Indo-Pak subcontinent a nuclear flashpoint forever. After almost two decades of the nuclear regime in place in the region, both countries ought to establish contacts with each other for a periodic review and renewal of nuclear deterrence. Given ongoing hostilities between the neighbours, such contacts can be established only with the vigilant interference of world powers. The international community will also have to intervene into the affairs of India-held Kashmir where four million Kashmiris have been locked down for over two weeks after the autonomy of the region was revoked by the Delhi government. In such a circumstances of high tension, the statement of the Indian defence minister is meant to serve their local Hindu nationalist constituency. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has rightly called Mr Singh’s latest comment a reflection of India’s troubled mindset after its controversial and “illegal” move on held Kashmir. The world must make India realise that it is watching its actions and statements. *
Source: https://dailytimes.com.pk/450444/indias-alarming-policy-shift/
