Indian Defence Review

India should also convey to Pakistan a strong message that although India is a peaceful country and does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of any other country, Pakistan must remember that it has several internal problems, like secessionist movements in Baluchistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Besides these muhajirs, Sairakis, residents of POK, Gilgit-Baltistan and several other nationalities want more autonomy. Hence Pakistan should stop assisting terrorist outfits in India as this can be dangerous for its survival.

The acrimony between India and Pakistan can be dangerous for the whole world. So world leaders should make an effort to take Pakistan off from the path of extremism. The madrassa culture has made Pakistani society narrow minded and a producer of terrorists, which is dangerous to the entire world. Hence Western countries should make an effort to reduce the number of madrassas and Muslim countries should stop financing these terror factories. The Pakistani government, on its part, should introduce modern education in these madrassas, which will reduce extremism among students and help them get jobs after they pass out from these madrassas.

There is lot of radicalisation in the Pakistani army as well as bureaucracy. Efforts should be made to de-radicalise them. Otherwise, the society cannot get rid of fundamentalism and extremism.

The Pakistan government must compel the ISI to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, including the training camps run directly by them or managed by various terrorist outfits financed by the ISI. Pakistan trains terrorists in POK, FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and other places.

The countries which render financial assistance to Pakistan must ensure that Pakistan uses the funds in the economic development of the country. The assistance should not be misused in purchase of weaponry or in enhancement of terrorism.

There are several terrorist outfits which operate between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the terrorists take refuge in one country after carrying out terrorist activities in the other country. The time has come when both countries should launch a joint operation to eliminate these terrorist outfits.

Pakistan has already attacked India four times, including Kargil in 1999, and the present Pakistani army chief, Raheel Sharif, stated at the National Defence University, sometimes back that Kashmir is an unfinished agenda of the partition of 1947 and that Pakistan and Kashmir are inseparable. Hence the possibility that Pakistan may attack India again cannot be ruled out. Therefore, India should continue talking to Pakistan and try to resolve all issues amicably but must remain prepared to face another invasion from Pakistan.

India must reinforce its intelligence agencies, which should be equipped with latest electronic gadgets, including unmanned aerial vehicles. More trans-border operations should be launched so that Indian security forces are aware about the movement of the Pakistani army.

The current Indian army chief, Dalbir Singh Suhag, stated in a seminar organised on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the 1965 Indo-Pak war that India must be ready for a short war. The warning from the army chief is relevant, and India must remain ready for the same.

Both countries should try to inculcate friendly relations and should start negotiations again. The next South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit would be held in Pakistan in July 2016. Pakistan would invite Modi to attend the summit. Therefore, both countries should try to start negotiations before the SAARC summit. The meeting at Ufa between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan and fixing of a meeting between the NSAs of both countries were good gestures, but the cancellation of the meeting by Pakistan on flimsy grounds was unfortunate.

Nawaz Sharif and Modi were staying in the same hotel in New York and attended the 70th session of the UNGA, but no meeting was held between them regrettably. Similarly unfortunate were the speech by the Pakistani prime minster in the UNGA and the hard-hitting rebuttal by Sushma Swaraj.

Both democratically elected prime ministers legitimately want the rapid development of their countries as they can win the next elections only if they implement the development agenda on which they won the elections. The voters of both countries want improvement and better lives, which is feasible only if India and Pakistan live peacefully and invest their scarce resources in poverty-alleviation programmes instead of spending money on the purchase of arms and ammunition.

In Pakistan, most of the time, the army has ruled the country, and even when a civilian government was in power, the army remained supreme. So the democratic institutions could not become strong in the country. The Pakistani army, especially the ISI and terrorist organisations, has vested interests and does not allow cordial relations with India.

Pakistan should stop distinguishing between good and bad terrorists and must understand that terrorists have no religion. Terrorists have done more damage to Pakistan than any other country, including India. Extremists, after subjugating minorities, are now attacking Shias, and after Shias are subjugated, different schools of Sunnis will fight among themselves. Hence the Pakistan government must eradicate extremism of all kinds.

Pakistan should stop abetting terrorist outfits. When a Pakistani terrorist is caught or killed in India, the relations between both countries become tense. Hence Pakistani security agencies must exterminate the terrorist training camps in the country.

Pakistan should adopt a pragmatic approach. So far, it has fought four wars with India and it has had the best of relations with several countries, including the US, China and Middle Eastern countries, but at the time of war, no country has sent its forces to assist the losing Pakistani forces. Every country has to fight its own war, and India is more powerful than Pakistan. Hence Pakistan must stop the low-intensity war against India and should try to inculcate friendly relations.

Pakistani generals should immediately stop bragging about nuclear warheads. The present government would retaliate with full force, and Pakistan, which has much lesser depth, will vanish while some population in India will survive. Pakistan should also understand that the nuclear plant at Kahuta is very near the Indian border and can be an easy target.

The leadership of both countries must understand that war is no solution to any problem. They must stop war mongering and should start creating an atmosphere in which talks can start. First of all, the finance ministers with delegations of businessmen should exchange visits. Pakistan should give the MFN status to India so that trade between both countries augments. In fact, direct trade between India and Pakistan is less in comparison to trade through third countries, and in this way, the cost of transportation and intermediary profit is unnecessarily added. The trade balance is too much in favour of India. Hence Indian authorities should liberalise more items so that Pakistani export to India improves. Once trade increases, the chances of good relations also increase.

India as well as the saner elements in Pakistan should try to start negotiations on non-controversial issues, and then slowly and steadily low-profile issues can be taken up. Both countries are suspicious of, mistrust and hate each other – a situation that has been there for the last 70 years. Besides, there are several pressure groups which have vested interests in a continuation of enmity between India and Pakistan. So the process of peace and tranquillity will be slow, but the process must start.

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The Pakistani defence establishment should negotiate with India on issues like water sharing, energy cooperation and climate change, and even small achievements in these fields should be publicised. The positive points should be highlighted, while negative publicity must be curbed.

The Pakistani defence establishment must understand that the present government wants peace with all neighbours, including Pakistan, but in case of border violations, terrorist attacks or any type of aggression, it would retaliate with full force. However, Pakistan defence forces do not want to understand this simple logic and are continuing with their anti-India designs.

The statement of the Indian air force chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on 3 October 2015 that the IAF is capable of attacking terrorist camps on the other side of the border may be a timely warning to Pakistan, but the policymakers must analyse its feasibility as it may trigger a war between two nuclear powers which may be disastrous for both countries.