http://scroll.in/article/816968/the-daily-fix-indias-diplomatic-offensive-against-pakistan-could-meet-with-a-hitch-or-two
India's diplomatic offensive against Pakistan could meet with a hitch or two 7 hours ago Updated 7 hours ago Ipsita Chakravarty Diplomacy now After the bluster, the stock taking. A day after the Uri attack, the Indian political and military leadership reserved "the right to respond... at a time and place of our choosing". But behind closed doors, at high-level meetings, senior political leaders are said to have pushed back against immediate military action. They have, however, indicated that India will be launching a diplomatic offensive on Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly given the go-ahead to "diplomatically isolate Pakistan" at all international forums, beginning with the United Nations. At first glance, there seem to be salubrious conditions for such an offensive. Representatives of the United States, Russia, China, France and United Kingdom have issued statements condemning the attack and all forms of terrorism. This means all permanent members of the UN Security Council have issued statements of solidarity with India – Russia even called off a joint military exercise with Pakistan. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also stated that the perpetrators of the attack would be brought to justice. So when External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj makes her speech on cross-border terror at the United Nations General Assembly, she is likely to find a sympathetic audience. But the Indian diplomatic offensive does not stop at terror. Alok Ranjan Jha, India's political counsellor to its mission at Geneva, also dashed off a statement to the UN Human Rights Council. The statement pointed out "human rights violations in Pakistan" that "cry for the world's attention", especially in the province of Balochistan, which has seen a long-running movement for secession. It spoke of enforced disappearances in several provinces and the "high-handed" use of force by the Pakistan Army against civilian populations. These are all allegations that sound familiar, except they have been made against Indian security forces in Kashmir, and not just by Pakistan but various international human rights bodies, for decades. The UN itself has been denied the right to send international observers to investigate such allegations. If India is to launch a credible diplomatic offensive against Pakistan, it also needs to clean up its own house. All charges of human rights violations cannot be swept under the carpet of cross-border terror. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.