Saman Hamid
India recently tested the Brahmos successfully, in a series of test the surface-to-surface cruise missile was launched from a mobile autonomous launcher (MAL) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Air-launched BrahMos is expected to be ready for deployment later this year, and at least two Su-30 squadrons with 20 planes each are likely to be equipped with it. Indians test fired Brahmos 450Km without notifying Pakistan earlier in March. Although Indians are only obligated as far as the ballistic missiles go but Pakistan time and time again has professed strategic restraint in the matter. It is also interesting to note that Indians are working to extend Brahmos to 600Km range enabled by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Indians are also working on ‘multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle’ (MIRV) missiles based on the successes Agni V.
India and Pakistan both have a significant number of populations below the poverty line and as far as income disparity is concerned things are not improving anytime soon. With this in mind imagine that India plans to spend $40 billion in Defence and Pakistan flowing suit with $7.6 billion this fiscal year. According to a report by “Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations 2008-2015” India is the second largest arms purchaser between 2008-15 making arms transfer agreements worth $35 billion. What is more alarming is that Indians are also diversifying their weapons base with halcon early a defense system aircraft in 2004 from Israel and numerous items from France in 2005, in particular six Scorpene diesel attack submarines, similarly jets and other weapons from the US and UK. With eight in the world with highest military expenditures and 3rd in terms of the number in the army, 1.3 million it is clear that Indians are not in a mood to diversify their strategic interest by bringing peace to the dialogue table especially as far as Pakistan is concerned and as long as the Modi regime is winning and winning back votes.
China with her advanced weapons system is challenged by India but is not an immediate threat and Indian media’s hoopla post Agni V died down pretty quickly after the official statement from China on the issue. Pakistan on the other hand has a long history and strategic interests are stirring a lot of things in January this year Pakistan laid bare its submarine-launched cruise missile, Babur III, followed by testing of medium range ballistic missile Ababeel boasting 2,200-kilometer range. Abbaeel has enabled Pakistan to enter the blub of countries that have multiple independently-launched vehicles. There are also plans of launching a space-skimming missile with multiple nuclear warheads which can target locations in India.
It is also interesting to note that the entire world is trying their level best to bring back peace yet all the arms deals and partial favors to select nations continue. Pakistan has had her share of problems as far as the F16’s from the US are concerned or the level of outrage is expressed towards our nuclear weapons when right across the border Indians nearly lose their nuclear materials literally in the rural areas to secretly increase their stockpile. The nuclear materials obtained for peaceful purposes under the NSG waiver by Indians is used for the same purpose, the fact was highlighted recently by Mr. Nafees Zakaria, Minister of Foreign Affairs. There are little who wonder globally about the growing nuclear weapons of India, Belfer paper inter alia concludes that India has accumulated nuclear material for over 2600 nuclear weapons.
One extremist element and the entire outlooks of regions change. There is Trump in the West and Modi in the East. With hostilities increasing especially in the wake of CPEC, Obama openly sided with India shifting focus away from Middle East in favor of India. Save three nations in the world everyone is oblivious to Indian intentions and upon successful lobbying agreeing to India joining the elite Nuclear Supplier’s Group, which ironically came into being post India’s nuclear explosions in the 70s, this in addition to their Defence Minister’s personal parapraxis last year about no to “no first use”. The atrocities in Kashmir invite minimal involvement of foreign human rights activists and the very recent meat ban lynching episodes have created even lesser stirs in the global community. It seems like Indians have a massive cloaking device for blinding the world. A seat in the UN security council is also in the works for the world’s so called biggest democracy but no one talks about the Indian acts in Afghanistan their prying activities in Pakistan openly admitted by Kulbhushan Yadav and then Ehsanullah Ehsan and these are just not admissions surrounding intelligence operations these are open admissions of operating and facilitating terrorist cells. All these amidst a massive arms build-up are a call to Pakistan to respond and for China to be watchful.
