View from Pakistan | Modi’s Choice

Ejaz Haider

Since early May this year, troops from China’s People’s Liberation Army and Indian Army have been in a tense standoff in eastern Ladakh along what is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a term first used by China’s premier, Zhou En Lai, and rejected by India’s prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Neither side has so far resorted to firearms. However, physical scuffles between PLA and IA troops have resulted in casualties. The worst such incident was on the night of June 15 when at least 20 Indian Army personnel, including the commanding officer of the unit, were killed and scores injured. PLA casualties remain unknown. Unlike previous standoffs at specific tactical points (Depsang, 2013; Demchok, 2014; Burtse, 2015; Doklam, 2017), the current push is theatre-wide and, therefore, different in operational terms.

Since the June 15 clash, a disengagement process has been underway. Independent commentators in India agree that India has lost territory and PLA has ingressed at multiple points along the LAC, though the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi denied that any intrusion had taken place. Ironically, in saying so, he contradicted his foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, who had accused the PLA of intruding west of the LAC.

Pakistan has been mostly quiet throughout this episode, notwithstanding the schadenfreude that often marks India-Pakistan relations. The statements put out by the ministry of foreign affairs and foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi have been pro forma. One such statement read: “We have noted the reports of renewed clashes at China-India border areas. We believe that the clashes happened as China was negotiating with India to resolve the conflict peacefully and through agreed mechanisms. India’s belligerent policies and actions seeking to unilaterally change borders with neighbours continue to pose a threat to peace and security of the region and undermine the efforts aimed at promoting stability and development in the region.”

However, this shou