By Nusrat Mirza
The tragic events of East Pakistan in 1971 left a deep impact on the psyche of the Indian government and its people, who had been under the yoke of slavery for a millennium. This period of deceptive pride has led many Indian individuals, including politicians, intellectuals, and writers, to be hesitant in acknowledging certain facts. However, they might do so only after a blow of humiliation which Indian faced several in the past. In the face of challenges during the 1965 war, General R.D. Pardhan’s recent article, “1965 War The inside Story,” published on July 12, 2023, revealed the potential dangers India had confronted.
He states, “…a major battle west of the Beas would end in the destruction of the Indian Army and subsequently allow the enemy (Pakistani) forces to push to the gates of Delhi without much resistance.” Despite this, the largest Tank Battle of Chuwanda since World War II showcased Pakistan’s resilience and success in thwarting the Indian Army’s objectives. Notably, Pakistan’s dominance extended to the Indian Sea Water and Air, causing significant damage to the Indian Air Force and Navy.
The 1971, a debacle for Pakistan, is a source of pride for India. However, due to this pride, Indians, whether politicians, intellectuals, or the Hindu population of India, may be inclined to overlook the new facts. Indians often talk about surgical strikes on Pakistani soil, but India has failed to provide any evidence to Pakistan or the world media to support these claims. If such strikes took place elsewhere, Indian politicians are deceiving their people, similar to how Adolf Hitler misled Germany with false information to boost pride.
India also mentions the events of February 26, 2019, in Balakot, where the Indian claim of causing casualties was proven false by the world media. Indian media conveniently omits the swift retaliation by Pakistan under Operation Swift Retort on February 27, 2019, which resulted in two Indian fighter planes being shot down, one pilot captured, and an Indian helicopter hit by their own army. It seems like a blind man witnessing an old green landscape everywhere.
One thing more Indians always talk about is terrorism which India, for its own reasons, ignites. After Kashmir, India’s RSS, the military wing of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), with the support of the BJP government of Narendra Modi, is now engaged in killing and demolishing churches of Christians in Manipur state of India. The BJP government is also at odds with Sikhs, Muslims, Gorkhas, Nagas, Bodos, the Naxal Maoist Movement, Mizoram, and others.
With India’s upcoming elections scheduled for April and May 2024, there is a perception in Pakistan that India might plan a false flag operation, similar to the Pulwama incident, to gain an advantage in the election. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a history of exploiting animosity towards Pakistan and Muslims as a campaign issue during elections. In the previous election, India faced accusations of staging the Pulwama incident, and investigations are ongoing to confirm if it was indeed a false flag operation.
According to reports from newspapers in Pakistan and India on April 15 and 16, 2023, the former Governor of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik, made statements to veteran anchor Karan Thapar of The Wire during an interview on April 14, 2023. (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8wmHUhLvOI)
He told the publication that he immediately realized that Modi wanted to use the attack to blame Pakistan for the benefit of his government and the BJP. Malik said the Indian Prime Minister was “ill-informed” and “ignorant” about IIOJK, and that he had told Malik not to speak about the Home Ministry’s lapses, which led to the devastating incident.
He revealed that the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama was a result of “incompetence” and “carelessness” by the Indian system, specifically the CRPF and the Home Ministry. Malik also gave details of how the CRPF had asked for aircraft to transport its personnel but was refused by the Home Ministry.
More importantly, he said all of these lapses were raised by him directly when Modi called him from outside Corbett Park, shortly after the Pulwama attack. He said the Prime Minister told him to keep quiet about this and not tell anyone. Malik also stated that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had advised him to remain silent and refrain from discussing the matter. Malik immediately realized that the intention was to shift the blame onto Pakistan and gain electoral advantage for the government and BJP. In a statement issued on Sunday, April 16, 2023, the Foreign Office of Pakistan asserted that Malik’s disclosures demonstrated how the Indian leadership habitually used the pretext of terrorism from Pakistan to advance its false victimhood narrative and the Hindutva agenda, solely for domestic political gains. Considering the above statements, it appears that the well-decorated and highly respected Lt. General Khalid Ahmed, Advisor to the National Command Authority (NCA) and the former Director-General of Strategic Plans Division (SPD), has either issued a warning or stated a fact in his speech on May 24, 2023, to ACDC/ISSI that Pakistan possesses the full spectrum of nuclear weapons in three categories: strategic, operational, and tactical, covering the entire expanse of the large Indian landmass and its outlying territories, leaving no place for India’s strategic weapons to evade detection.
The range of Pakistan’s missile strikes, spanning from zero meters to 2750 kilometers, both vertically and horizontally, remains a matter of speculation for most of the Indians. To understand the term they are burning their mid night oil.
It is, however, essential for Indians not to be misled by the BJP’s rhetoric, which may suggest that Pakistan is weak in conventional warfare.
On the contrary, Pakistan’s defense capabilities in this domain are formidable and robust. Nonetheless, if any deceptive element exists, it should be addressed and clarified promptly, even if it is not officially acknowledged.
Furthermore, the message is loud and clear: “No False Flag Operation” to win the election of 2024 by blaming Pakistan or engaging in any other activity related to Pakistan. This time, the situation will be worse, considering that Americans claimed to have avoided a nuclear clash in 2019.
The writer is the Chief Editor of Monthly Interaction.