- A good offence is the best defence
In response to the threat hurled by the Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat, the message given by the civilian and military leadership is that Pakistan is a peace loving country which firmly believes that peace could be established only through dialogue and not war and that the yearning for dialogue was being made from position of strength and not weakness as Pakistan was fully capable of a befitting retaliation against any aggressive action. That surely is our national narrative in regard to the security issues and the efforts for regional peace which conforms to an eternal reality propounded in the Latin adage’ Si vis pacem, para bellum’ the English meaning of which is ‘if you want peace, prepare for war’. A similar theme is reflected in Iqbal’s couplet ‘Taqdeer key Qazi ka fatwa hey azal sey hey jurme zaeefi ki saza marge mafajat’ the English translation of which is ‘It is the eternal decree of the judge sitting in judgment on destinies—that weakness is a crime punishable by death’.
The bottom line is that to deter a potential aggressor and maintaining peace you must have matching military strength as lack of it can imperil your territorial integrity, security and existence as a nation. History testifies to the fact that stronger nations have subjugated smaller and weak nations. In view of this realisation and security threats by India, Pakistan is fully justified in maintaining minimum nuclear deterrent and befitting response to its newly evolved doctrine of cold start which has helped to prevent war between the two countries so far. Pakistan surely wants peace with India and in the region. It has an abiding commitment to this cause. It has made innumerable peace overtures to India for dialogue and peaceful resolution of the disputes between the two countries, including the core issue of Kashmir. But India has invariably spurned those efforts.
Unfortunately, since partition of the sub-continent, India and Pakistan have been locked in a conflict over Kashmir. India which is bigger in size and resources not only has been trying to browbeat Pakistan through its arms build-up and going nuclear but has also been pursuing a calculated policy of establishing its hegemony in the region encouraged by US and its western allies who have their strategic and commercial interests in this part of the world.
Once the Kashmir issue is resolved and relations with India are normalised and India signs the NPT, Pakistan surely would have no hesitation in signing
When India exploded a small nuclear device in 1974 on the basis of the US sponsored and supported nuclear programme, it heightened security concerns in Pakistan which perforce had to start its own nuclear programme to thwart dangers to its security. While India had aggressive designs purported to establish her hegemony in the region by pursuing the nuclear option, Pakistan’s response was India-specific and defensive in nature. However despite acquiring the capability of producing nuclear weapons it did not explode the nuclear device until India did it in 1998. This declaration of acquisition of nuclear capability, as is evident, was again prompted by the Indian indiscretion to announce its nuclear credentials.
It is pertinent to point out that in spite of the fact that Pakistan was staunch ally of US during cold war and war against former USSR in Afghanistan the latter tried to halt its nuclear programme through different pressure tactics and even sanctions under Pressler Amendment. The nuclear explosions by Pakistan restored parity with India and created a credible deterrent against a full scale war between the two countries, probably for all times to come.
USA has been even pressurising Pakistan for signing NPT and withdrawing its opposition of FMCT without addressing her legitimate security concerns. Pakistan has rightly resisted those unreasonable demands of US and its allies. Pakistan believes in non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and has been supporting the objectives of NPT in this regard but it cannot take the risk of limiting its options in the face of continued threat from India. The role of India in the dismemberment of Pakistan is a ranting testimony of the level of threat that Pakistan faces from India.
India has continued to enhance its capability of conventional warfare by spending staggering amounts of money on acquisition of weapons from different sources that led to a big gap between the capabilities of the two countries in the conventional domain. Inebriated by this development, India adopted a belligerent posture towards Pakistan and even coined the concept of Pakistan-specific ‘Cold Start’ which stipulates hitting specific targets within Pakistan instead of starting full-scale war. These provocative and threatening actions by India could not have gone un-responded by Pakistan. The matching response was the initiation of a missile programme designed to produce short-range missiles which could carry small nuclear war-heads and hit all targets within India. This option again has been forced on Pakistan by the aggressive Indian designs. Pakistan rightly feels that it would stop India from entertaining aggressive designs against her. It is yet another deterrent to forestall the possibility of even a limited war between the two countries.
While the US and the western countries are trying to prop up India as a regional super power, they seem wary of the missile programme of Pakistan. They look at it from the perspective of nuclear terrorism at the global level, rather than it being India-specific and necessitated by legitimate security concerns of Pakistan.
The US and the western powers need to understand Pakistan’s position with regard to its nuclear programme in its proper context. The only and the practicable solution to this ticklish issue lies in addressing the causes that prompted Pakistan to take the nuclear option i.e. the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir that has bedeviled relations between the two countries and precipitated enmity between them. Non-resolution of Kashmir issue not only poses a threat to the regional peace and security but is also a potent threat to the global peace. If the powers that be are really serious and sincere in peace and security in the region, they instead of coercing Pakistan to abandon its nuclear programme must make efforts for the resolution of the dispute between India and Pakistan in conformity with the spirit of the UN resolutions. Once the Kashmir issue is resolved and relations with India are normalised and India signs the NPT, Pakistan surely would have no hesitation in signing the NPT and removing its objections to initiation of dialogue on FMCT.
Indian leadership also needs to revisit its anti-Pakistan posturing because the continuation of the enmity syndrome and any indiscreet conflict-mongering actions could have disastrous consequences for both the countries. It is in the best interest of the two countries to opt for peace and resolve their disputes amicably to leave a good legacy for the posterity. They must not be in any doubt regarding befitting response by Pakistan to any Indian aggression.
