It came like a tornado – and ended in a whimper. Indians remain totally confused as to how a “ceasefire” was effected abruptly after raising passions to a high pitch. More importantly, the people are more confused as to how a “ceasefire” was announced by US President Donald Trump from the comfort of his home and on his Twitter handle. The confusion on multiple fronts is compounded by the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided addressing the nation. It’s up to the government to take a decision whether to continue an offensive or not, based on the ground realities and evolving situations. An unsubstantiated claim now is that the US received “alarming intelligence” from its sources. This perceived N-threat, at this hour, could simply be “fodder” for the over-excited Indian channels to give some solace to their highly disappointed viewers.
Salute to India’s armed forces for their high sense of precision, the admirable courage and the high action they performed on all fronts, thanks also to high military preparedness India has achieved through decades of sustained efforts. While stating this unambiguously, it must also be stressed that some goof-up has occurred at the political level, due to which Pakistan has obviously not learned a lesson yet. The denouement must have come about in a more calculated fashion. Instead, consider the manner in which Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif rubbished “enemy” India, praised the Pakistan military brass and its chief of staff Syed Asim Munir repeatedly, as also the US and other allies to have effected a ceasefire. Without doubt, Sharif had remained jittery all through the present military engagement, which affirmatively proved that his country was no match to India when it came to a direct confrontation. Yet, he showed the gumption now to claim the Pakistani forces gave India a fitting reply.
India left the stage half way through the engagement — and in an unacceptable manner. The military engagement was all about Kashmir. India’s long-held policy is no third party would be involved in discussions on Kashmir. Now, the Modi establishment effectively turned this policy upside down and allowed direct US involvement. India will in future pay a heavy price for this. Worse, as geo-strategist Brahma Chellaney stated, we “seized defeat from the jaws of victory” and India’s political leadership has not “learnt lessons from history.” The perfection of India’s indigenous military technology that was proven in this military engagement, including the role of the Brahmos missiles in the decimation of key targets in Pakistan, must be hailed. It’s important that the political leadership must match its will with the huge advancements that this nation has made in defence preparedness and in their effective, timely use. It should not go unnoticed, also, that the rebels in Balochistan who took some decisive steps at the back of India’s military offensive against Pakistan are perhaps left high and dry. Who ultimately gained is open for a detailed analysis.
