IF at all a consensus on the status of Gilgit-Baltistan was required, the prime minister or the foreign ministry should have called a meeting of politicians to seek their feedback.

I don’t know why it is presumed that the Kashmir issue falls in the domain of the army. Diplomacy on Kashmir affairs very much falls in the domain of the foreign ministry. It is only when diplomacy fails that the role of the army begins.

Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz said war is the continuation of politics by other means. Where does politics end and ‘other means’ begin is a thin line to draw. This thin line has to be determined by the civilian government and not the army.

Air Cdre (r) Khayyam Durrani

Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2020