With Pakistan making it officially clear that it has not closed the chapter for opening the Kartarpur Sahib corridor yet a message has gone out that the new Imran Khan Government in Pakistan has chosen to keep at least one window of opportunity open for India which in desperate closed the door for any new opportunity by calling off the foreign ministry level talks at UNGA session. Though India is claiming that army in Pakistan runs civilian government’s in that country by proxy but given the statement of Indian army Chief General Bipin Rawat even naives can understand that army’s interventions in the policy matters of Narendra Modi led government concerning country’s foreign relations with the sovereign states in the neighborhood are visible in India and on contrary interventions of army in the policy decision of the Imran Khan government in Pakistan are not visible. It is not for the first time that army chief General Bipin Rawat has gone public on a policy decision of Modi government concerning India’s relation with Pakistan and situation in Jammu & Kashmir state but many a times during the past one the incumbent army chief General Rawat courted many controversies and once during last one year he even made a highly controversial remark even over the working of schools in Kashmir. In fact during last more than four and a half years of BJP rule under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the unwanted remarks of the army chief on policy decisions of the central government show his intents of intervention in the working of the government.
To secure India’s reputation as the biggest democratic country of the world it is for Prime Minister Modi to ask army general’s to refrain from making statements on the policy decisions of his government. Army’s silence on the policy decisions of the civilian government’s in India and Pakistan can fill the gapes of trust between the civilian rulers commanding and controlling popular governments in New Delhi and Islamabad.
Respecting army for its sacrifices on borders and anti-militancy operation though shows the spirit of nationalism but army’s unwarranted intervention in the matters of a civilian government is an insult to democracy in the biggest democratic country of the world. To secure India’s reputation as the biggest democratic country of the world it is for Prime Minister Modi to ask army general’s to refrain from making statements on the policy decisions of his government. Army’s silence on the policy decisions of the civilian governments’ in India and Pakistan can fill the gapes of trust between the civilian rulers commanding and controlling popular governments in New Delhi and Islamabad.
