The entire security in Jammu and Kashmir has been divided into various grids, and responsibility has been assigned to the security forces accordingly. This arrangement is reviewed, monitored, and coordinated by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Lieutenant-Governor of J&K on a regular basis. That the incident on 22 April happened despite this is a cause for concern, and requires introspection as to where the lapse was, and to correct it to avoid recurrence.
However, the silver lining is that when the Air force hit the terrorists’ headquarters, their training centres, and launch pads deep inside Pakistan, precisely and ‘smartly’ in the intervening night of 6 and 7 May, causing extensive damage to the terrorist infrastructure as well as the terrorists, the accurate ground intelligence of enemy territory was provided by a sister agency. Evidently, our intelligence agencies are well equipped, and capable enough to be accurate while collecting hard intelligence in enemy territory. They have the right mix of human and tech intelligence in their repertoire.
An important takeaway from Operation Sindoor has been the use of remote technology without a soldier interface. There has been no evidence of any manned aircraft crossing the air space of either India or Pakistan, which shows that both sides had viewed the corresponding air defence threat rather seriously. However, as the hostilities escalated on 8 and 9 May, India had, with precision, effectively destroyed the air defence system of Pakistan and its other military facilities, which perhaps resulted in the overture of ceasefire from the Pakistani DGMO. India demonstrated the superior ability to deliver precise attacks across vast areas of Pakistan.
Utility of drones, for attack, surveillance, and for countering drones, was perhaps being tested for the first time in the battlefield, and the experience gained will definitely be utilized for making it more lethal, and for better preparedness in future. This is the first instance of drone warfare in Indo-Pak rivalry, and both sides attempted to cause as much damage to each other as possible. However, our integrated air and missile defense system had largely neutralized several waves of Pakistani drone attacks, which the enemy launched on a large scale.
Our air defense also worked exceedingly well against limited Pakistani short range ballistic missile attacks on 9 and 10 May. India also effectively used cruise missiles (Brahmos and Scalp-EG) on Pakistan for the first time, and caused extensive damage to the military assets of Pakistan. This was the first conflict in which the efficacy of Chinese weaponry was tested, and India apparently emerged as the winner. Pakistan has been using HQ-9 air defense system, PL 15 air-to-air missiles, and J-10 fighter aircrafts, which were effectively neutralized by India. Performance of these Chinese systems was keenly watched by almost every major power in the world as future confrontation with China is everyone’s worry.
Though the ceasefire has been effected, this brief escalation of hostilities between two nuclear powered nations has resulted in a massive readjustment in geopolitics. Apparently, the US is claiming to have brought about the ceasefire by pressurising both the countries on the plank of trade tariffs, causing a lot of heart burn in India. Our subsequent strong denial of the same, reiterated that the proposal of ceasefire originated with the Pakistani DGMO. India responded to it positively, as its primary objective of hitting the terrorists camps/headquarters with precision had been achieved, and the message had been sent loud and clear that any type of terror attack supported from across the border would be met with an adequate and appropriate response ~ one that would not be limited to our side, but would also be affected deep inside the territory of Pakistan.
Be that as may be, there is no denial of the fact that massive retaliatory action by the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force on 9 and 10 May inflicted heavy damage to the strategic locations of Pakistan, which resulted in overtures from the Pakistani DGMO, and as is now known, President Donald Trump pre-empted everyone and declared the cease fire. Whatever it is, it has been a huge moral victory for us, and highlights the technical superiority of our forces. On the diplomatic front, however, we must move effectively, and aggressively too, because our economic and industrial growth in recent times, and also a great potential as a big market, even bigger than China, should not be taken lightly by the developed and developing countries to belittle our superiority in the battlefield. All said and done, Pakistan has been a failed nation economically and politically, and is basically on offer, to be used for geopolitical reasons by the US and China.
Given the context that the US will not be comfortable in cozying up to China, and the proximity of China and Russia due to strategic reasons, India should play its cards deftly, as the axis of Russia, China and the USA will be guided by commercial reasons mostly in the coming years. Over the years China and Pakistan have worked very closely to isolate India, and our endeavour should be to keep Russia, a timetested ally, on our side. It is pertinent to note that one of the main reasons for the faster economic development of China in recent times is due to the fact that China has not let itself be engaged in any sort of war with any country for a fairly long time. The call of the hour is smart diplomacy, without compromising our national pride and interest.
(The writer, a retired IPS officer, has served in various capacities including as Commissioner of Delhi Police, DG-BSF, DG-NCB, DG-BCAS and Special Director, CBI)