By Agha Iqrar Haroon
After licking dust at the hands of the Pakistani Army, India has launched a dangerous campaign against Pakistan that can not only put the region at risk but also global peace. This sinister move of India has been sensed by Pakistan after Indian Prime Minister Modi used the word “nuclear blackmail” in his televised speech to his nation.
Since Pakistan exposed a false narrative that India outnumbers Pakistan in conventional warfare, as Indian’s hostile plans were destroyed in “Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos”, Modi can put global peace at stake through his usual reckless moves. His speech was actually an attempt at instigation, but Pakistan has outrightly defused it through smart diplomatic moves.
Since Pakistan achieved the status of a nuclear country, a false and dangerous narrative had been launched by India and global North at large stating that “India outnumbered Pakistan in conventional war therefore it (Pakistan) would opt the option of the nuclear that would put the global survival at stake therefore Pakistan must be disarm from nuclear power”. Pakistan Army on May 10 had eroded this false narrative, telling the world that India cannot win against Pakistan in conventional warfare, reestablishing the fact that Pakistan had never needed nuclear weapons as an option to defeat India. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, during his interview with CNN, stated that Pakistan counterattacked India after Indian’s strikes inside Pakistan’s international borders, and that was surely an act of war and a wishful attempt to establish India’s hegemony. He categorically added that the nuclear option was never on the table. Dar said Islamabad “had no choice” but to launch strikes in “self-defense” following India’s May 7 cross-border attacks.
Responding speech of the Indian Prime Minister, Pakistan’s Foreign Office called Indian actions “a dangerous precedent for aggression, dragging the entire region to the brink of disaster”.
“This reflects the mindset of a revisionist actor that seeks to upend strategic stability in South Asia without regard for consequences. Moreover, India is justifying the cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians, mostly women and children, as well as its highly irresponsible brinkmanship, as the “new normal” for the region. Pakistan rejects this assertion. The “normal” remains that no one will be allowed to challenge the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, as amply demonstrated by Pakistan in resolutely defending its sovereignty, territorial integrity, as well as the security of its people”, added Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
After Modi’s speech and citing the rhetoric of “nuclear blackmail”, a sinister campaign in Indian as well as western media is trying to “nuclearize” the situation in Indian subcontinent as following the same old textbook statement that Pakistan shall use nuclear weapon as its first choice although Pakistan defeated India in 11-hour conventional war and “never thought about nuclear option” as mentioned by its Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Since Pakistan started its nuclear program in the mid-70s, it has been tagged as “Islamic bomb” by Western media, although the Indian atomic bomb had never been called a “Hindu bomb”, or other bombs with the religions of the countries they were made in. This sinister move is back with full throttle with a dangerous design because Pakistan did not defeat only India on May 10, but hegemony of the western military empire with Chinese-made weapons. India was not alone in trying to bully Pakistan, but also those who are collaborating with India and Pakistan’s Defence Minister Kh. Asif, without naming anybody, said in one of his press conferences that a foreign country’s experts are (were) present in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
I have reasons to believe that Pakistan is closely monitoring India’s actions and its attempt to nuclearize its conventional defeat, and must raise the issue internationally that placing the nuclear issue in the middle of the war theatre by Modi would not help global peace, and his schizophrenia can be disastrous for global peace. Consistent with its right to self-defense, Pakistan’s conventional response to Indian aggression was calibrated and targeted against military installations, while India attacked the civilian population of Pakistan, and it is now an indisputable and well-known fact that cannot be denied by misinformation and propaganda.
Pakistan is a victim of terrorism, being directly sponsored by India, and has been submitting documented facts to international forums for Indian direct involvement in terror attacks in Balochistan, KPK, and other parts of the country. It has suffered a lot due to this scourge. Now India has physically attacked the international borders of Pakistan, as Pakistan is successfully dismantling its terror network in the country. Can India let Pakistan live in peace? Pakistan is a responsible nation, and our commitment to peace must never be mistaken for weakness. Pakistan, by destroying India’s design of regional hegemony within hours, testified that any future aggression from India will also be met with full resolve.
In this era, peace is the true strength; war and jingoism can only worsen the situation. The world is not served by theatrical militarism and grandstanding but by mature leadership, regional cooperation, and respect for international norms.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article/Opinion/Comment are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk (DND). Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk.
