After Pahalgam Terrorist Attack, India Must Blend Coercion With Diplomacy

With India taking a series of measures against Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, including banning imports, barring its ships from docking at Indian ports and vice versa, and suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, former diplomat SHARAT SABHARWAL, who was India's deputy high commissioner (1995-99) and high commissioner to Pakistan (2009 to 2013), says in an interview with Bhaswar Kumar and Archis Mohan, that while calibrated coercion must remain part of New Delhi's approach to deal with Islamabad, it should be combined with diplomacy whenever possible. Sabharwal has witnessed the aftermath of Pakistan's nuclear tests, the Lahore peace bus initiative, the Kargil conflict, and 26/11 Mumbai attacks. He has authored India's Pakistan Conundrum: Managing a Complex Relationship. Edited excerpts of the interview:

- SHARAT SABHARWAL

How do you assess India's five-pronged response to the Pahalgam attack?

India's response so far has been largely symbolic, except for suspending the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with immediate effect. Shutting down the Attari-Wagah Integrated Check Post will have little impact, as it never reached full potential since opening in 2012, and trade had already dwindled after Pakistan suspended it in 2019. Cancelling the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme affects only a select group. Similarly, reducing the size of the High Commissions is not unprecedented. In contrast, suspending the IWT is qualitatively different. This treaty is very precious to water-stressed Pakistan, the lower riparian, whose fears of water diversion—long voiced by planners and the public, including to me as high commissioner—now seem real. India has declared its intent to work towards withholding water. This creates deep anxiety. Yet without major infrastructure, the immediate practical impact will be limited, though the psychological pressure is significant. We have tried coercive measures, including the 2016 surgical strikes after Uri and the 2019 Balakot airstrike after Pulwama. India has been searching for additional steps to pressure Pakistan, and perhaps this moment called for such a move.

You were closely involved in India's response to the 2008 Mumbai attacks. What were the lessons learnt?