Recently, a high speeding flying object from Indian territory fell in Pakistan, Indian side stated this was accidental saying that there is an internal investigation going on. Pakistan is not convinced with this Indian stance and highlighted this at the OIC conference. This incident raises questions on the re-evaluation of regional peace in terms of India being an irresponsible state with regard to the safety of its nuclear arsenal and handling of its strategic gadgets.
This strategic mishandling is not the first time, recently, two Indians have been arrested in Nepal for possessing Uranium. Two of these incidents already have happened before as well. These repeated incidents of access to the Uranium substance pointed to questions about the entire state of nuclear security in India. These are disturbing trends where nonstate actors are having easy access to uranium, this also indicates that there is a thriving market in India that is indulging in this business.
India being a US strategic partner can always get away from such kinds of follies that is why western powers are not raising any hue and cry. Had it been Pakistan, all the western think tanks and countries would have raised concerns about strategic stability in South Asia and the implications of such dangers. Military command and control is a national responsibility and there is no international body to ensure that but in case of such episodes, one can take this issue to the UN and other international forums to highlight the dangers of such a lack of control in South Asia.
Mistakes do happen, in the past, there are episodes from the cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States but they had means i.e. hotline and diplomatic channels to convey such issues to each other. In this particular case what we have seen is that till Pakistan reveal this, India did not reveal this has happened. This indicates the serious flaws and gaps in India’s command and control system. Interestingly, the foreign secretaries of both India and Pakistan 2004 agreed to have a hotline between the two countries but unfortunately, that hotline was of no use as it was made for the same purpose.
Nonetheless, a communications link between the two countries would be useful in reducing the risk that unintended ups and downs in their relationship could escalate beyond what either side expects. If there was a hotline, it would have been beneficial to build some trust between the two countries. For implementing these steps there are no rational actors on another side, as the kind of statements and actions made by the Modi government further enhance tensions and instability in the region.
On the other hand, China a prominent actor in the region and global politics has been facing Indian misadventures with the backing of the US. Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border. Against the backdrop of bitter relations between both countries, the Chinese foreign minister visited India. India has backtracked from the early demands it was making from the Chinese side and China also made it clear that they are not going away from the positions they have taken. Chinese are reaching out to India with a message not to rely too much on the US and live peacefully with China in the region.
Pakistan categorically has been highlighting India as an irresponsible nuclear state and also in the OIC FM summit declaration put its weight behind Pakistan’s stance as well. As members of the international community, all the countries have a responsibility that such incidents do not happen.
All the countries possessing conventional and nuclear arsenals are supposed to be responsible and have also certain responsibilities under international norms and arrangements. In the presence of far-right extremists i.e. RSS and the ruling BJP government under Modi these repeated incidents of uranium seizure from private individuals and missile incident is a serious matter as it concerns regional and international security. There are sane elements on the Pakistani side willing to go forward in responsible negotiations and have displayed a character in terms of being able to carry out positive engagement with India. In response, one can’t see any of this from Indian side based on their actions within India and in their foreign policy choices which is a constant threat to regional peace and stability.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Asian Mirror’s editorial stance.
