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The Paki intruders were promised houris; they got death instead

There is understandable jubilation all around -- our tigers have, after a bloody 11-hour hand-to-hand combat, replanted the national Tricolour atop the strategic Tiger Hill. The Pakis, who had surreptitiously positioned themselves on this hill, along with other strategic heights in the Kargil sector, after intruding across the Line of Control, have been either packed off to jahannum or lucky enough to turn tail and flee like the cowards they are. It is a tribute to the Indian soldiers that they did not mow down the fleeing enemy -- that is not our style this side of the line that divides Hindu civilisation from Islamic barbarism.

Meanwhile, there is information that one more strategic height has been freed from the Paki intruders, adding yet another feather to the cap of the unknown soldier. By all accounts, our forces are firmly set on the path to a glorious victory, matched by the boundless ignominy of the Pakis who have been foolish enough to believe that the barren Kargil hills are crawling with houris.

Instead of tantalising nubile nymphets promised to them by the chief of the Pakistani Army, General Parvez Musharraf, and his ideological compatriot, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, who heads the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakis have had to contend with grim, determined Indian soldiers. As a Paki soldier has told Time magazine, scores of jihadis are rotting in the gorges, a death far from the promised entry to god's own dancing hall.

In the midst of all this has come the joint statement issued by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief and US President Bill Clinton in distant Washington, DC. The statement is noteworthy on three accounts.

First, Mian Sharief has admitted the need to respect the Line of Control "in accordance" with the Simla Agreement of 1972. This is an implicit admission that Pakistan has been lying through its teeth till now on two issues -- that there has been "no violation" of the LoC and, in any event, the LoC is not a well-defined entity. Perhaps those who rule the "land of the pure" and their conscience-keepers (who control murderous outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jamaat-e-Islami) should reflect on whether it befits a true Muslim to lie.

Second, Mian Sharief has agreed to take "concrete steps" for the "restoration of the Line of Control in accordance with the Simla Agreement". This has firmly put the onus of ending the crisis on Pakistan, which in turn is an implicit admission that Islamabad is the aggressor, not some fictional 'Mujahideen'.

Third, Mian Sharief has accepted that "the bilateral dialogue begun in Lahore in February provides the best forum for resolving all issues." The American message is clear and unambiguous: No UN General Assembly, no Security Council resolution, no third party intervention. This is tantamount to President Clinton telling Mian Sharief: You have created a mess, you clean it up.

Therefore, Mian Sharief has little to show for his weekend visit to the US, apart from committing himself to a written declaration that India has been right all along. There is, however, need for a cautious response to such declaratory tactics. It would be imprudent if we, like Prithviraj Chauhan, decide to show kindness to the enemy. Like Muhammad Ghori, the Pakis are not deserving of such kindness. For, if they survive death today, like Ghori, they will stab you in the back again.

To that extent, all talk of a "safe passage" and "honourable retreat" is unacceptable. Dishonourable men cannot stake claim to any honour, especially in defeat. If the Pakis find themselves cornered, both internationally and militarily, they are welcome to return where they have crawled out from. No Indian soldier will besmirch his honour by shooting the enemy in the back. And once the status quo ante has been restored on the LoC, our forces will obviously stop the military action.

It is this insistence on "safe passage" and "honourable exit" that makes the Paki position dubious. It is entirely possible that these are nothing more than words to deflect world attention, soften international opinion and detract the attention of our boys. In any event, as I have already mentioned, how can the dishonourable pretend honour?

Therefore, the military action must continue, and all efforts made to free Indian soil of every intruder. Mohammed Ali Jinnah had offered the two-nation theory as a solution to the communal problem. Let us offer a two-option theory to solve the Kargil problem: The Paki intruders can leave dead or alive. The choice is entirely that of their masters in Islamabad.

Yes, it is a tough solution, because there are no easy solutions to Pakistan's perfidy. Mian Sharief, it would seem, wants hostilities to end, but is caught in a cleft stick. If the battle continues and is taken to its logical conclusion by the Indian forces, then he loses. That section of Pakistani society which subscribes to the madness of the Islamists will bay for his blood and the Pakistani army will move in for the kill.

No less important is the fact that a broke Pakistan cannot sustain either its society or the war with the help of empty coffers. To keep the Pakistani state alive, it desperately needs IMF dollars to be thrown into its begging bowl. A recalcitrant Pakistan could be denied the alms it needs to survive.

On the other hand, if Mian Sharief forces a withdrawal by Pakistani troops from Kargil, then it would be equally deadly. Such a coitus interruptus would see the same end results -- the Islamists and the army would go after Mian Sharief.

Such a denouement is not necessarily in the interest of sub-continental peace and prosperity. In the absence of other alternatives, Mian Sharief is the best bet to keep the mad men of Pakistan in check. At the same time, there is little to be done when he himself has failed to prevent the violation of the letter and spirit of the Lahore Declaration.

As I said, there are no easy solutions to this mess. But we are not to blame for it; the Pakis are. So let them sort out their own problems. Meanwhile, let us press ahead with cleansing the Kargil mountains of the mad men who have chosen to believe in the mumbo-jumbo of the mullah brigade rather than lay store by the wisdom that the peace dividend is any day better than fictional houris.

Kanchan Gupta