Israel and the Gaza Offensive - Should India Emulate and Attack Pakistan?

Israel has launched an all out attack against the Hamas over what it says is the continued attack by Hamas on southern Israel. Over the last few days since this offensive started, I have heard from friends who are trying to compare Israels situation with that of India, how India needs to emulate Israel and attack Pakistan for the repeated terrorists attacks on India and the recent Mumbai blasts in particular.

Though I would like to see Pakistan brought to the books for all its atrocities, I feel that attacking Pakistan would be a wrong move on the part of India. There are a couple of reasons for that.

First of all Israel has a lot of support from the United States. AIPAC, the pro Israel lobby in America is very powerful and any politician in the US who needs to be elected to an office of any worth must have have support from this lobby. Though India has come to be recognized as a burgeoning democracy and economy by the United States, it does not enjoy the kind of support that Israel does.

Second, Israel is the solo nuclear power in the region. But India and Pakistan are both nuclear armed neighbors. Any conflict between these two has the potential to escalate into a full blown nuclear conflict.

Third, in the unlikely scenario of a war, the refugee and humanitarian crisis that would unfold would be of unprecedented proportions. I do not think neither India has the resources nor the expertise to tackle this situation.

Fourth, a war would likely make Pakistan pull all of its troops from the western border with Afghanistan, where Pakistani army is involved in a battle to defeat the Taliban.

All this does not mean that India should just forget about the Mumbai blasts and keep to itself. It is in India's interest to see that Pakistan does not slip into another terrorist state like Afghanistan. So the correct course of action on India's part is to work with the United States and the new Obama administration to apply diplomatic, economic and political pressure on Pakistan to dismantle the terror outfits on its land. A war with Pakistan at this juncture would prove both costly and counter productive from India's point of view