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Myanmar is not Pakistan: 5 misconceptions about India's cross border attack

Charu Kartikeya | Updated on: 13 June 2015, 16:27 IST

The Indian Army's rare hot-pursuit operation against insurgents inside Myanmar on Tuesday has prompted muscular suggestions that these strikes were also a message to Pakistan.

The Army might have eliminated the insurgents allegedly responsible for the massacre of 18 of its soldiers in Manipur last week, but it is remarkably misplaced to believe that such action can be taken within Pakistani territory. Here's why.

1. As the Army has hinted, it received co-operation from Myanmar for this operation. It is impossible to receive such co-operation from Islamabad against anti-India terrorists in Pakistan.

2. Myanmar is largely a friendly country for India and unlike Pakistan, there are no outstanding issues in the India-Myanmar bilateral relationship, like the dispute over Kashmir.

Mynamar Pakistan India attack

The scene of the attack in Chandel district where heavily-armed rebels in India's restive northeast killed at least 20 troops on June 4. Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images

3. Since Pakistan is not a friendly country, it is most likely that the Pakistani establishment will take this kind of an operation as an assault on its sovereignty.

4. Unlike Myanmar, Pakistan uses terrorism as an important instrument of foreign policy. It supports, sustains and provides logistical support to various terror groups and uses them to pressurise India on the Kashmir issue.

5. Between the civilian government and the Army in Pakistan, the Army has an upper hand on foreign policy related to India, China, Afghanistan and US. So even if a civilian government would want to co-operate with India on such an offensive, Pakistani Army will never allow this kind of action.

First published: 11 June 2015, 14:26 IST
 
Charu Kartikeya @CharuKeya

Assistant Editor at Catch, Charu enjoys covering politics and uncovering politicians. Of nine years in journalism, he spent six happily covering Parliament and parliamentarians at Lok Sabha TV and the other three as news anchor at Doordarshan News. A Royal Enfield enthusiast, he dreams of having enough time to roar away towards Ladakh, but for the moment the only miles he's covering are the 20-km stretch between home and work.