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An unnecessary and excessive attack by Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj against Pakistan at the UN General Assembly has drawn strong criticism from Pakistan. Ms Swaraj’s bizarre taunt and allegation marked a rhetorical escalation in India’s seemingly renewed quest to try and put pressure on Pakistan regionally and globally.
Almost certainly, the escalation is linked to US President Donald Trump’s so-called South Asia strategy, which casts Pakistan as a spoiler of regional peace and improbably suggests that a greater role for India in Afghanistan may help stabilise that country. The Indian foreign minister’s Trumpian rhetoric indicates that India is in no mood to engage in dialogue with Pakistan and will continue to try and deflect the world’s attention from the oppression of the Kashmiri people in India-held Kashmir.
Nevertheless, Ms Swaraj’s diatribe could have been met by a more measured response than the one given by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi, especially considering the thoughtful and principled position that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi took on India and the Kashmir dispute during his own speech at the UNGA earlier.
While technically, the right of response was in the UN, perhaps a more appropriate reply could have come from the Foreign Office or foreign minister. The role of the UN permanent representative is to determinedly keep the attention of the UN and the world on the issues that Pakistan wants to highlight.
A sober and categorical response to Ms Swaraj’s speech would have kept the focus on India’s atrocities in IHK and the need for the world to do more to help the suffering of the Kashmiri people. Instead, an opportunity has been lost and the outside world will likely see the squabbling as yet another instance of how Pakistan and India prefer to trade insults rather than address common problems.
Indeed, for Pakistan, foreign policy and national security challenges are multiplying. If not handled carefully, an economic downturn could combine with a foreign policy crisis, leaving Pakistan acutely vulnerable to US-led international pressure.
Perhaps the greatest disservice to the oppressed people of IHK is for Pakistan to try and highlight their plight without improving its own credibility in matters of militancy in the eyes of the global community. It is far too easy for the outside world to disregard Pakistan’s principled and rightful objections to India’s approach to IHK and the overall Kashmir dispute because Pakistan is widely perceived to be unacceptably tolerant of certain kinds of non-state actors.
The stealthy mainstreaming of banned groups is the latest example of misguided policy. A war of words with India may please nationalist sentiment, but it may also cause further damage to Pakistan’s legitimate interests.
Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2017
Comments (46) Closed
Ugly exchange of words. Most embarrassing was the display of a picture of a wounded girl from Gaza by mistake.
Sensible analysis
I liked the insightful suggestion .,,,
A very well balanced editorial.
Sane voice. Dawn is journalism at its finest.
Balanced editorial. Congrats!
How beautifully this editorial went around then put the message across to remind powers be mindful of consequences.
Agree, war of words is not an answer
Good article
well said
@Mirza Beg Strong submission that Pakistan imparting false history and forged facts to her citizens and thinks that the same trick be implied for the world to fulfill illicit coveted interest and justify her policy of terrorism as a state policy.
Befitting Reply. Should Continue.
GOOD EDITORIAL.
An excellent piece of an Editorial.
Extremely sensible article.
I only wish these 2 countries can be friends - best wishes from Pakistan
UN is a forum to maintain and achieve peace. No one is interested in peace now. Everyone is using it to blow hot air, including the super powers. It may be the sign of turbulent times ahead.
good editorial without rheotic so that both side should low down the voice. However it was bad preparation by Ms Lodhi which world understood the correct positon of Kasmir
If Pakistan's foreign policy and diplomacy been effective and centered on the benefit for Pakistan , we would have been a strong nation today.
Great Editorial. Hats off to Dawn for being voice of sanity in a tit for tat action from immature players on both sides.
Name calling and attempts to belittle each other do not solve the mutual problems; neither does intransigence. Good editorial.
Right response by Pakistan at right forum ,
Balanced editorial
If at all Pakistan become a great country ever, you, the Dawn, would have made a valuable contribution to make it happen. Excellent Article. You should expand to India too and continue giving people across boundary the balanced view of reality. Congrats.
Lets accept her words realizing the ground level truth. Hope we empower ourselves soon
Right from the title, dawn did good job in writing balanced article. This love affair is better kept between two than public display in every international platform. World already lost interest and busy with their own challenges. Other than self-disgrace, anything is achieved? Particularly the unpreparedness of FO and Ms Lodhi is just got more slamming than any good.
A great self goal by Maliha Lodhi !!!
as usual masterpiece & impartial
A good response by Pakistan. Enjoyed the speech.
Maleeha Lodhi should take responsibility for blunder. She should have done her research well. She made a laughing stock of Pakistan with false photo and narrative about the Gazain girl. India got chance to exploit our weakness and shame us in UN.
Completely disagree. Maleeha Lodhis response was very apt and calculated. It was elaborate and contained appropriate detail for the international community to understand India's nefarious terrorist designs operating in Pakistan through Afghanistan.
good
Response of India after PM Abbasi's address at the UNGA and following Indian FM address to UNGA, it was utmost necessary for PAKISTAN to respond accordingly as done by Ambassador Dr. Maleaha Lodhi. Enough is enough, no more one way tolerance while India is asking the world to join him against PAKISTAN.
Great balanced article. Pakistan made a strong point. However using a photo of a Palestinian victim was not right. Probably a picture of body of a missing Bluch eventually found dead in a drain with torture marks would be better. It could have been more easily passed off as an India atrocity.
Pakistani politician, diplomats are yet to be matured. Those are capable, runway and take refuse to other countries. Hussian Hakani, Tarek Fateh are the examples.
Excellent write up . After Swaraj speech , I felt it was ohintb hyped and lacked sincerity. Pak speech made the point w/o being obnoxious. But lodhi ruined it. She has been there for years and years and done absolutely nothing to write home about. It was more of an attempt to keep her job. Pak foreign office should send someone who is not si sure if her/himself.
Brave Maleeha Lodhi has given Ms. Swaraj the taste of her own medicine.
Thats is A white wash by corrupt Pakistani establishment. All the advantage went to their enemy India as the bureaucrats and establishment has no interest and if they have power they will give Kashmir to India in plate. They are like OIC (OH I See). They let India take all initiatives and react when it is too little too late. Pakistani press is claiming a debate. While reading and watching foreign press i even don't see a mention of Pakistan response. Unfortunately even Pakistani press run owned by same anti-state special interest groups use words which degrade the freedom fighters in Kashmir.
I am requesting specially the reporters to start playing their role so we can talk from position of strength. We had to stand on our own as the world bodies are very bias towards India due to economics and submissive nature of Indians.
How else does one train Circus animals? With refinement? Surely not.
Who started this war of words?
All I want to mention here is editors of Dawn make a lot of sense. wishes from India
Madiha Lodhi - she is Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations but I am surprised she did not have access to a single pic of Indian atrocities in Indian occupied Kashmir. Those barbaric / horrendous pictures are being published right, left and centre in the media but poor Madiha couldn't lay her hands on even one of them. She dared open her mouth for the first time and goofed it all up by a wrong picture. Its a shame... while her bold stance / speech is being widely hailed by one and all... this little mistake (or rather a grave one ) has made her a laughing stock . At that level and position….. she can’t get away with it….. she will have to face the music ! It’s been 70 long years since we got independence but still India has not reconciled to our existence. It’s time to give them a "SHUT UP" call at all international forums to mind their own business and let us live in peace instead of meddling in our affairs.
Overall a good article. However it should be nited that the Pakistani PM was the one that started the diatribe. India will respond back in kind. Perhaps, for once, talk about development and see if India still behaves crudely. Anyways, no one in the UN cares about Kashmir, and both the countries. Its heydays are long over.
Let us maintain some space in placing allegations for future reconciliation if warranted. Restraints should be buzzwords.
Very dignified.
I disagree. India only understands this language. Under Nawaz government, pakistan has been too soft on india and let them get away with murder in IOK. Pakistan needs to revive and remind the world that kashmir is the cause of conflict, overt and covert. Afghanistan violence is an overspill of indian kashmir occupation, the cause which india tries to deny and pakistan won't let it forget. By upping the ante on kashmir, let the world know to resolve terrorism in South Asia, from Afghanistan to Bangladesh and India, it is the kashmir issue that is the key to peace and prosperity.