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Pakistan Is Not India’s Enemy — But We Won’t Be Its Scapegoat
Pakistan – Victim, Not Aggressor
First of all I want to present a concise, evidence-based case that Pakistan has consistently acted in good faith, while India has engaged in repeated acts of aggression and provocation.
Pakistan is not the aggressor. We have been the consistent voice for peace in South Asia, offering cooperation even in our darkest hours. It is time the world recognized where the aggression truly lies — and acted accordingly.
1. Historical Facts & Broken Commitments
Forcible Annexations (1947–48): Despite the rulers of Hyderabad and Junagarh choosing Pakistan or independence, India annexed both states by force—setting an early precedent of violating the principle of choice at Partition.
Partition Assets Withheld: India denied Pakistan its agreed share of financial assets, creating severe early economic hardship and mistrust.
1962 Opportunity Declined: During the Sino-Indian War, when India’s forces were fully engaged against China, Pakistan refrained from seizing Kashmir—proof of Pakistan’s policy against opportunistic aggression.
2. Pakistan’s Restraint vs. India’s Aggression
Operation Blue Star (1984): Despite mass unrest among Sikhs after the Golden Temple assault, Pakistan did not exploit India’s internal instability.
UNSC Membership Bid: Pakistan is prepared to back India’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat, contingent on resolving bilateral disputes — a clear gesture of commitment to peaceful coexistence.
Post-Mumbai Cooperation (2008): Pakistan offered joint investigations and counter-terrorism collaboration, but India rejected these overtures.
3. Evidence of Indian Hostility & Interference
1971 War & Secession of East Pakistan: India’s military intervention—at a troop ratio of 12:1—violated the UN Charter and directly led to Pakistan’s breakup.
RAW Involvement in Terrorism: The capture of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav confirmed state-sponsored sabotage in Balochistan.
Public Admissions: Former PM Manmohan Singh acknowledged India’s interference in Balochistan to PM Yousaf Raza Gillani (Sharm el-Sheikh, 2009).
Terror on Pakistani Soil: Attacks like the Jaffar Express in Balochistan bear hallmarks of external orchestration, with evidence linking them to Indian networks.
4. Pakistan’s Consistent Peace Signals
Dialogue First: Pakistan has repeatedly invited India to resume talks, implement confidence-building measures, and work toward regional cooperation.
Defensive Posture Only: Pakistan’s nuclear and conventional force development is a direct response to India’s size, economic resources, and military modernization—not for initiating conflict.
Key Facts & Dates
May 2025 – Misinformation, Miscalculation, and Escalation
May 9, 2025 — False Coup Narrative
- Near midnight, a WhatsApp message from an employee of India’s state-owned broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, falsely claimed Pakistan’s Army Chief, Gen. Asim Munir, had been arrested and a coup was underway.
- Within minutes, major Indian networks broadcast it as “breaking news.”
- Reality: No coup occurred — Gen. Munir was later elevated to Field Marshal.
May 10–15, 2025 — Media Escalation & Fake Victories
- Indian TV channels aired exaggerated claims of “massive destruction” in Pakistani cities.
- Sensationalist graphics and “exclusive” footage dominated airtime, many later debunked.
- Reports falsely portrayed Pakistani leadership as surrendering — designed to feed a domestic war-hype narrative.
Mid–May 2025 — Operational Reality
- Despite the media frenzy, independent defense analysts reported Indian tactical losses in several key skirmishes.
- Pakistani forces held their ground, repelling attempted Indian advances across sensitive sectors.
May 24, 2025 — Propaganda Meets Reality
- Billboards in Lahore with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and senior military leaders signaled national unity and defiance.
- Pakistan’s government released partial battle footage and independent journalist briefings, undercutting India’s victory claims.
Late May 2025 — Diplomatic & Strategic Fallout
- India’s aggressive posture drew concern in neutral capitals; several foreign outlets criticized the “hypernationalism” of Indian media coverage.
- Calls for restraint grew after Indian misinformation was exposed by The Washington Post investigation, citing “parallel reality” narratives on Indian TV.
June 4, 2025 — International Spotlight on Disinformation
- The Washington Post publishes must read detailing how Indian media amplified falsehoods during the conflict, including the coup hoax and exaggerated battlefield success stories.
- Former Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao admits a “vacuum of credible information” was filled by “abnormal triumphalism” — effectively confirming the distortion of facts.
Key Takeaway: May 2025 demonstrated how aggressive disinformation, not battlefield success, drove India’s domestic narrative. The episode exposed the gap between Indian media portrayals and operational realities, while Pakistan maintained both territorial defense and credibility in the information war.
April 2024 – Pahalgam Attack: Pakistan immediately offered independent investigation, intelligence sharing, and cooperation. India rejected these offers and escalated rhetoric instead.
2019 – Balakot Airstrikes: India violated Pakistan’s airspace without provocation. Pakistan responded restrained, targeting non-military assets, and returned captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman within 48 hours as a peace gesture.
2001–2018 – Ceasefire Violations: India committed over 13,000 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC), killing hundreds of civilians.
Kashmir Siege (Since Aug 5, 2019): India revoked Article 370, imposed a military lockdown, and carried out systematic human rights abuses, documented by UN reports.
2009 – Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt: Then–Indian PM Manmohan Singh acknowledged to Pakistan’s PM Yousaf Raza Gillani India’s involvement in unrest in Balochistan — a rare diplomatic admission.
Pakistan Is Not India’s Enemy — But We Won’t Be Its Scapegoat
Pakistan’s Consistent Restraint: Whether in Pahalgam 2024 or Balakot 2019, Pakistan’s responses prioritized de-escalation and diplomacy.
Documented Indian Aggression: From LoC violations to state-backed militancy in Balochistan, evidence shows India as the primary instigator.
Good Faith Diplomacy: Pakistan has even expressed willingness to support India’s UNSC seat bid — if disputes like Kashmir are resolved.
International Endorsement: Multiple UN & human rights reports validate Pakistan’s claims of Indian abuses in Kashmir.
Victim of Terrorism: Pakistan has lost 80,000+ lives to terrorism, much of it linked to regional instability fueled by Indian actions.
On April 22, 2025, the world woke to news of the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir — 26 lives lost in a brutal act of terror. Within hours, Islamabad issued its response: unqualified condemnation, an offer to share intelligence files, a proposal for a joint investigation under independent oversight, and an open invitation to international observers.
New Delhi’s answer was silence. Days later came the retaliation — the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (a pact that has endured wars), the downgrading of diplomatic ties, and unilateral military operations along the Line of Control.
This pattern is painfully familiar. In global discourse, the easy headline is that Pakistan is India’s perpetual antagonist. In Washington and Brussels, policy briefs often frame the subcontinent as a morality play with one predictable villain. But history — recent and past — tells a different story.
A Record of Restraint
Time and again, Pakistan has opted for restraint when escalation was an option. After the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Islamabad, under immense domestic pressure, not only condemned the violence but also offered cooperation in the investigation — despite the political cost at home. In 2019, when India claimed to have carried out an airstrike in Balakot following the Pulwama attack, Pakistan’s response was carefully measured: a limited military reply and a public commitment to avoid further escalation.
Contrast this with India’s posture in recent years. The abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 — stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status — was followed by one of the longest internet shutdowns in a democracy, mass detentions of political leaders, and reports by Amnesty International of arbitrary arrests and torture. Instead of engaging Islamabad, New Delhi has increasingly used Pakistan as a foil for domestic political gain.
The Unspoken Admissions
Sometimes, the truth slips through the cracks of official narratives. In July 2009, at Sharm El Sheikh, then-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged to Pakistan’s leadership that India was “involved in Balochistan” — a statement recorded in the joint declaration and reported by major outlets including The Hindu and Dawn.
For Pakistanis, this was not a revelation but a rare public admission: India’s covert footprint in fomenting unrest in our southwestern province. Years later, in 2016, India’s own National Security Adviser Ajit Doval boasted on camera of a “double squeeze” strategy involving support for separatists in Balochistan.
Selective Outrage and Global Blind Spots
The West’s selective moral arithmetic fuels this imbalance. When Indian-administered Kashmir endures curfews, media blackouts, and mass arrests, these measures are often described as “internal security matters.” When violence erupts, the reflex in many foreign capitals is to ask what Pakistan did to cause it — rarely whether India’s own actions might have sown the seeds.
This framing has consequences. It emboldens New Delhi to act without fear of diplomatic cost, while pressuring Pakistan to constantly prove its innocence before a skeptical audience. A wise person once noted in a different context: Being accused is the same as being convicted in the court of public opinion.
The Stakes for Peace
The tragedy is that Pakistan and India have shared interests too vast to ignore: water security, climate resilience, trade, and regional stability. South Asia is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions. The Indus Waters Treaty — now suspended by India — was one of the last functional bridges between the two states. Its collapse will not hurt politicians in Islamabad or Delhi, but farmers in Punjab and Sindh who depend on those rivers to survive.
Economists estimate that normalizing trade between Pakistan and India could add 2% to Pakistan’s GDP and 1.5% to India’s annually. That potential remains hostage to a politics of mutual suspicion — and to India’s calculation that keeping Pakistan isolated serves its electoral narrative.
The Way Forward
For peace to be possible, a few principles must be non-negotiable:
- Independent Investigations: Any major attack in the region should be investigated by a neutral, international body — not tried in the court of TV debates.
- Mutual Non-Interference: Both sides must formally commit to halting covert operations on each other’s soil.
- Reviving Dialogue: The last comprehensive talks stalled in 2015. A structured process, shielded from electoral politics, is essential.
- Reinforcing Treaties: The Indus Waters Treaty and similar agreements must be insulated from political disputes.
Refusing the Scapegoat Role
Pakistan does not seek to be India’s enemy. We do not fear engagement, scrutiny, or the uncomfortable truths that dialogue may reveal. But we will not accept being cast as the villain of every South Asian crisis — especially when the evidence points to shared responsibility.
The cost of perpetual hostility is not borne by diplomats or defense budgets alone. It is paid in the lives of Kashmiris caught in the crossfire, in the stunted dreams of South Asian youth denied opportunities for collaboration, and in the slow death of the idea that our two nations might one day coexist as equals.
The next time violence strikes in Kashmir or anywhere else in the subcontinent, the question for the world should not be, “What did Pakistan do this time?” but rather, “What will both India and Pakistan do — together — to ensure it never happens again?”
Until that shift happens, peace will remain an aspiration endlessly deferred.
YouTube Video Link: Pakistan Is Not India’s Enemy
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