Either outcome will spell additional trouble for India. If the jihadis continue to prevail, that will secure them the Pakistani State. If the Army, upon being pressurized or induced by Americans, halts them, and saves the State from falling to their hands, it will become more Islamic, it will secure more power. Again, Sushant Sareen has put his finger on the spot: every setback has been attributed to insufficient Islamisation, to insufficient power; hence, after each setback, the Pakistani Army has become more Islamic, it has acquired more power. And when it has succeeded in quelling some section, for instance the Baluch, its success has been taken as the occasion for ever greater Islamic fervour, its success has been the vindication that entitles it to even greater power and presence in Pakistan’s life and affairs.

And then, there is the problem of what to do with its progeny, the jihadis. One outlet will be to help them recapture Afghanistan. That objective is one of the main reasons on account of which Pakistani agencies and forces are not doing anything near what is required to staunch the Taliban and al Qaeda. But acquiring Afghanistan is an instrument: the main reason for recapturing it will be to reacquire what Pakistani strategists have called “strategic depth” vis a vis India. The main outlet, the main objective will be India, and ultimately, the one “solution” that Pakistan’s forces and agencies will see for getting the jihadis creating trouble within Pakistan will be to deflect them to India.

... contd.