As India conducted ‘non-military pre-emptive strikes’ deep inside Pakistan obliterating the Jaish-e-Muhammad camps on Tuesday, a humiliated Pakistan had run crying foul over the violation of its airspace and sovereignty. However, the global community has chosen to ignore Pakistan’s rant while deciding to back India for its resolve on fighting terror.
The Indian air strikes had pushed Pakistan into a corner following which it had to rush to the global community to seek support over the alleged violation of its sovereignty. However, none of the global powers has chosen to side with the terrorist state of Pakistan on the issue and rather supported India’s proposition for conducting ‘non-military pre-emptive strikes’ for self-defense.
CHINA:
The biggest embarrassment for Pakistan was that its ‘all-weather’ ally China could not muster the courage to support Pakistan’s claim of violation of sovereignty. Instead, China has asked both Pakistan and India to exercise ‘restraint’ amidst the soaring tensions. With this China has clearly sent out a signal to Pakistan that it would try to ease tensions between the two countries rather than supporting its ally Pakistan.
UNITED STATES:
The United States has backed India in its quest to respond to the Pulwama attack in Kashmir, which had killed 40 CRPF personnel. Two days after the suicide bombing, John Bolton, the U.S. National Security Adviser, had said the United States supported “India’s right to self-defense.”
Bolton said the US has been very clear to Pakistan on ending support to terrorist safe havens. “We have been very clear on that score. And, we are continuing to be in discussions we are going to have with the Pakistanis,” he said. Earlier, the White House and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked Pakistan to end its support to terrorist safe havens inside the country.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday has said that he spoke to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the issue of taking “meaningful action” against terrorist groups operating on Pakistan soil, following an air strike by India inside Pakistan.
FRANCE:
Meanwhile, one of India’s oldest and reliable partners, France has supported India’s “legitimacy to ensure security” and asked Pakistan “to put an end to the operations of terrorist groups established on its territory” while asking both countries to show restraint. The French government also seems to be least concerned about Pakistan’s territorial integrity.
“Resumption of dialogue between Islamabad-New Delhi is necessary to initiate peaceful settlement of differences. France, which stands by India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms is fully engaged in mobilising the international community to sanction terrorists responsible for this attack (Pulwama) and freezing their financing networks,” the spokesperson of France’s Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs said.
AUSTRALIA:
The Australian government has put Pakistan in a tough place after it stood behind India and urged Pakistan to take “urgent and meaningful action against terrorist groups in its territory. In a press release, the Australian government said, “Pakistan must do everything possible to implement its own prescription of Jaish-e-Mohammed. It can no longer allow extremist groups the legal and physical space to operate from its territory.”
“Pakistan must take urgent and meaningful action against terrorist groups in its territory, including Jaish-e-Mohammed which has claimed responsibility for the 14 February bombing, and Lashkar-e-Taiba,” said Australia while urging both the countries to show restraint. The Australian government press statement does not feature anything pertaining to violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.
EUROPEAN UNION:
The European Union (EU) also called on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise “maximum restraint” after Indian warplanes attacked the militant camp in Pakistan. The European Union had recently censured Pakistan for not taking adequate measures to control international terror and had advised Islamabad to undertake “clear and sustained actions targeting not only all UN-listed transnational terrorist groups but also individuals claiming responsibility for such attacks”.
Meanwhile, Dean of Diplomatic Corps Hans Castellanos, who represents more than 150 foreign missions in India, on Tuesday said that the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) airstrikes across the Line of Control (LoC) were very responsible. He had said that the airstrikes targetted the terrorists who were planning future attacks on India and not the civilians.
“We want to congratulate Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for quickly briefing us. The message was a direct one. It was a non-military preemptive strike. India wanted to target terrorists, not civilians. India behaved responsibly,” he said. “The operation was a very directed one. It did not target any civilians. It did not target any military camp in Pakistan. It was done to avoid any further attacks in India,” the dean of diplomatic corps said.
