ONE of the worst aspects of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is that all Governments have used PoK as a political ploy rather than a serious issue of national interest. There was a time when one after another Indian leaders of the Government of the day -- directly or indirectly related to security and defence establishments -- kept shouting from the roof-top that PoK was the next, best and nearest target and India would grab it back. This was nothing but a serious hoodwinking of the unsuspecting millions of common Indians who felt charged first and cheated later when a deathly silence descended over the political establishment in succeeding months. PoK is not -- and cannot be -- to be treated as a political ploy since it deals with a massive national emotion. Hobnobbing with that emotion is being looked at by a large section of society as a political deception.

 

The PoK issue cannot be turned into a tool for stoking public sentiments for narrow political gains. It deserves a deep thinking, specific strategy and foolproof planning if India is actually serious about taking it back. Since the 1994 Parliamentary resolution in both the Houses to reclaim every inch of Indian territory in possession of Pakistan, the topic of PoK has found mention in many a discourse -- diplomatic as well as political. However, with no clear strategy to get back our part of Kashmir from Pakistan, the issue has invariably turned into rhetoric than policy. Reclaiming PoK is a tactical gambit which entails sustained efforts on various platforms to create international opinion in India’s favour. Military action against Pakistan might have the backing of popular sentiment (and social media!) but the ruling leadership is well aware of the consequences of even a small aggression into disputed territories. International opinion can turn negative in a jiffy in light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict as the world would view India as an aggressor without caring for historic realities of Kashmir and New Delhi’s stated position on PoK. India’s current position in the fast-changing world order has been built through a strategic shift from non-alignment to multi-purpose, multifaceted alignments which makes it doubly imperative for New Delhi to bring all hands on the deck before thinking of an adventurous exercise.

 

The Foreign Ministry and diplomatic machinery did it pretty successfully when the Centre took the bold decision to scrap Article 370 granting Special Status to Jammu & Kashmir. It caused consternation in only a few Muslim countries as the world largely saw it as India’s internal matter. Taking back PoK is an altogether different ball-game which needs new and shrewd planning and loads of patience to strike at the right time. A lightning quick military operation to capture PoK is still a possibility for India’s Armed Forces but it will be a step laced with extreme risks. Any action in the restive Gilgit-Baltistan region in PoK would immediately draw China into direct warfare as Beijing is highly invested in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passing through the region. Apart from conventional warfare, China always relies on covert actions like cyber attacks and digital disruption.

 

The battle for PoK can easily transform into a large-scale, multi-zonal war with unaffordable military and economic costs. Then again, the long-drawn wars going on between RussiaUkraine and Israel-Hamas have shown the futility of a direct conflict as many players grab opportunities to side with the two warring sides for their own goals and keep the fire burning. Instead of making it a show for the gallery, India can easily gain from the concealedwarfare technique by hurting the China-Pakistan interests in PoK. Gilgit-Baltistan has turned into a tinder box following public unrest over Pakistan Government’s handling of the region. Violent public protests and negative opinion about Pakistan’s civil and army leaderships are steadily creating a pro-India tilt among the masses. India must systematically assist the unrest to keep the fire burning (as is happening in Balochistan) to make it difficult for China to take forward the CPEC and wait for a civil uprising. Another step that needs immediate implementation is mobilisation of international attention towards the human rights situation in PoK.

 

A media blitz to expose the PakistanChina excesses in the occupied region is the need of the hour to serve India’s national interest. Highlighting the conditions in Gilgit-Baltistan will also bring back focus on the larger region that the world seems deliberately trying to ignore. Instead of coming out with political statements of “winning PoK back”, India can wisely use Gilgit-Baltistan as a tactical tool to soften up Pakistan and keep China at bay. PoK cannot become a shrill political rhetoric ending up in mere posturing to Pakistan.The issue of taking back Pakistan-occupied territories necessitates a powerful, multi-dimensional policy that will cover all bases at home, including the entire political class, and will resonate in the wider international spectrum as India’s legal right on its own region.