MAKE no mistake, no power on earth can undo Pakistan.
The level of military prowess, technology and weapons Pakistan has is truly God-fearing and ground shattering. Without the timely intervention of the US and their offer to de-escalate the armed conflict in return for a trade deal, India and Pakistan’s encounter in May was escalating towards an all out war.
Pakistan humiliated India’s Air Force, deploying its J-10 and J-17 aircraft (co-produced by Pakistan and China) shooting down 4 French-made Rafale fighter jets and 3 Russian made fighter jets beyond visual range, all without crossing the border. They managed to employ highly advanced electromagnetic warfare capabilities, courtesy of China, jamming signals and radar sensors – leaving the enemy completely blind and defenceless. They used hypersonic missiles to destroy India’s S-400 Russian-made Air Defence System (SAM). They employed cyber warfare against Indian military satellites, electrical power grid systems, official government websites and compromised databases belonging to their Air Force, Election Commission and surveillance cameras all across India. The use of nuclear weapons were also being discussed – since Pakistan is not part of the Nuc-lear Non-Proliferation Treaty and it refuses to adopt a ‘No first use’ policy, it considered In-dia’s provocation and aggression as an act of war against its sovereignty. The levels of de-struction would have been limitless. It reminded the world how powerful Pakistan truly is despite India boasting a total military strength three times its size.
Learning from their weakness in air superiority against Pakistan and unable to counter Pakis-tan’s electromagnetic/cyber warfare capabilities, India may instead rely on their naval strength against Pakistan in the future. Their aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, along with destroyers, frigates and anti-submarine warfare ships were positioned in an operational range against Karachi during the conflict in May – however, such engagement would have implied both countries are in an official war.
Despite Pakistan emerging as a clear victor in this conflict, completely reshaping its global standing and status quo in the world, there are whispers of India plotting future attacks against Pakistan. While they currently rely on their Indian-state sponsored terrorist group, the BLA, to destabilize Pakistan and Balochistan by conducting suicide blasts and attacks from within Pakistan, they have also managed to ally themselves with the Afghan Taliban.
The Taliban (TTP) within Pakistan have greatly increased its attacks on Pakistan’s soldiers, frequently targeting Army outposts, military convoys, police stations and civilians. In spite of strong credible evidence linking the TTP and the Afghan Taliban to these attacks, the Afghan Taliban government refused to cooperate with Pakistan to capture and handover key high-ranking members of the TTP involved in these attacks, instead sheltering them within Afgha-nistan. Signalling a dangerous new phase in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, Pakistan conducted sev-eral precision airstrikes within Afghanistan targeting members of the TTP. The most notable was the airstrike on TTP’s leader, Noor Wali Mehsud and his convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city. The border between both countries also saw increased attacks and artillery firing, with Pakistan claiming deeper land into the Durand Line. Interestingly, Afghanistan’s For-eign Minister was present in India during this dispute for a week-long trip. By suspending the Indus Water treaty and curtailing the flow of water to Pakistan, by allying themselves with the Taliban, by funding terrorist groups within Pakistan – India is engaged in a covert war against Pakistan.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
