The promised release of captured IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Thursday, 28 February suggests a potential de-escalation in the Indo-Pak leadership.
Many questions on the way forward remain unanswered and there has been no official briefing by top politicians or PM Modi in the last 72 hours. Although BJP’s B S Yeddyrappa did made a statement that the India’s airstrikes will “help BJP win 22 seats in Karnataka.”
Additionally on Thursday, 28 February, at a joint media briefing in New Delhi, top officers of Indian Army, Air Force and Navy said the armed forces are on high alert for any security challenges, but refused to give any direct answers to questions on whether Pakistan's decision to release Varthaman could be seen as easing of tension.
The silence of our political leadership begs the questions: Are our top leaders politicisng the current situation? Are Indo-Pak tensions being used for electoral gain? What do we make of this scant communication from our political leaders?
Speaking to BloombergQuint, Lt Gen HS Panag defended the briefing, saying, “Defense services personal are the most competent people to answer questions on military operations. There were not many political questions in the briefing.”
Vinod Sharma, Political Editor, Hindustan Times, added, “Today’s IAF briefing sought to dispel misinformation coming from Pakistan’s side. If there are constant briefings, prospects of rumour-mongering get diminished greatly.”
On the question of whether our leaders are trying to use these political tensions to their advantage, Neerja Chowdhury, political commentator and columnist said, “The situation will get politicised as elections are around the corner, although the specific dates have not been notified.”
Although de-escalation seems likely, there are many steps that need to be taken for normalcy to return.
“To try and get political or electoral mileage out of this, or pitch rhetoric and discourse at that level, I think both sides can wait. Certainly the government, the PM, the BJP, can wait a week. I think they need to show more restraint now.”Neerja Chowdhury
Amitabh Tewari, Co-Founder LoudST, said, “Politicans will do politics. I am not surprised at the politicisation of this issue both from the BJP and the Congress.”
To this, Sharma said, “Politics is not just about winning elections, but also about winning hearts and making India stand up as one in the face of a challenge, and this is where I feel let down.”
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