strong reference to Balochistan

personal opinion

disturbance in Kashmir

NEW DELHI: The Congress gave its thumbs up to the idea of India raising rights violations in Balochistan in response to Pakistan's Kashmir rant, bringing about a political convergence that may decisively shift the national policy on the recalcitrant neighbour.After PM Narendra Modi made ain his Independence Day speech, former foreign minister Salman Khurshid made a distinction between POK and Balochistan. He said Balochistan was Pakistan's internal matter, even warning that raising the restive province in public would weaken India's claim on POK.But the Congress swatted aside Khurshid's view as his ““ and stressed that Balochistan had everything to do with India.In a statement hours after Khurshid slammed Modi, AICC spokesman Randeep Surjewala said: “Whether it is Balochistan or POK or other parts of Pakistan, there are violations being committed by Pakistani agencies and armed forces. The Congress feels the violations in Balochistan, the way democracy and democratic dissent is being stifled, India should raise it in bilateral and international fora.“For the party which has identified with the traditional consensus of playing the victim on Kashmir while keeping its hands clean on Balochistan, Congress's decision to play ball with Modi's aggression stems less from policy considerations and more from its impact on domestic politics.With the revival ofcoupled with Pakistan behaving like an “enemy state“, the popular mood appears inclined towards a “muscular“ response to the neighbour.The most susceptible to the anti-Pak rhetoric are the middle classes and the youth. Pakistan has a different place in the nationalism debate. it brings in the element of Hindutva polarisation. Any whiff of a catalyst that can consolidate these demographics, like the PM's “tit for tat“, would worry the anti-BJP camp ahead of key assembly elections, including UP .The Congress manoeuvre to espouse Modi's offensive appears designed to position it in a political safe zone. Modi has, in the past, painted the Congress weak on nationalism. However, it's not the first time that Congress has let its political instincts overrule policy on Balochistan.The party leadership had red-flagged, and buried, the Sharm-el Sheikh declaration signed by Manmohan Singh. The declaration agreed to discuss Pak claims that India had a hand in the Baloch movement.The Congress hopes its stance would leave the Centre answerable if Modi's gambit flops, given that it takes India on unchartered waters internationally .