WILL MAKE THE WHOLE WORLD BLIND. OR IS IT REALLY TIME TO TEACH THE BULLY A LESSON?

SUDHIR AHUJA // ‘Do not lament the death of warriors killed in the battlefield As those who sacrifice their lives in war are honoured in heaven.’

First off, my heartfelt condolences to the families of all the soldiers killed in the recent attack on the Indian army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan seems to believe that India won’t act strongly against the attackers. We need to give them an appropriate reply.

Personally, I feel we should definitely try the diplomatic route but at the same time keep the option of military retaliation open. The military action option should not be given a backseat.

History is witness to all the efforts taken by the Indian government to resolve matters with Pakistan. Be it by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who travelled to Lahore in the Delhi-Lahore Bus, Sada-e-Sarhad, to bridge differences between India and Pakistan. This effort was derailed after the 2011 Parliament attack. More recently, one thought things may be somewhat upbeat when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a brief, unscheduled visit to Pakistan in November 2015, while en route to India from Afghanistan. Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Pakistan since 2004. But the relationship between the two countries continued to go south.

I feel it is time for us to come out of our shell and revert. Sitting back and merly accepting the dead bodies of our martyrs should be put to an end. Pakistan, despite being the epicentre of terrorism, has still not been declared a terrorist nation. When a heavily armed group attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station, the Modi government tried to resume dialogues with Pakistan, but in vain. Now, after Uri, the time to talk and make strategies is over. Pakistan has taken India’s attitude for granted and appears to be pushing its luck.

It is saddening to see that even after being cautioned publicly and warned of strict actions, Pakistan has failed to mend its ways. India should look at options and protest diplomatically for a comeback against Pakistan. Either diplomatically or militarily, it is time for our government to take strict action to resolve this problem and come to a logical conclusion.

NEERAJ MAURYA //Should India’s attack on Pakistan be the answer to the Uri attack? No. Eighteen Indian soldiers were killed in the attack on Uri army camp on September 18. The four terrorists involved were also eliminated. The terrorists maybe Pakistan sponsored, but who gains from such an act? Those behind the terrorists knew the result. They may be having Pakistan-marked weapons but does attacking Pakistan mean we would be doing the right thing? Investigation reveals the role of Jaish-eMohammed, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, and not the Pakistan army. Direct or indirect involvement is a matter which needs to be proved. The moment we attack Pakistan, we’ll have strained relations with many countries, and we won’t stand to achieve anything except that thumping our back saying we taught Pakistan a lesson. And remember, the attack won’t last long as we would be under immense pressure to stop it.

War is not the answer in today’s world as since both the attacker and the attacked stand to lose. We have to put pressure diplomatically. We have to keep the dialogue open with Pakistan. Once, we stop talking, we merely delay all diplomatic relations. Positive results can only be achieved by fruitful discussions and mutually beneficial treaties.

The Uri attack also mentions lapses by our intelligence. Why? Was any action taken against any official for the lapse? We should concentrate on making our intelligence agencies better and resultoriented. No failures should be tolerated.

So, what should India do?

• Open up dialogues with all like-minded countries.

• Involve Pakistan also as they too are part and parcel of the issue.

• See that the lapses on the part of our intelligence agencies are minimal.

• Draw a line for all the media reporters who create an overhyped scenario and project themselves as self-styled defence experts.