Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Pakistan is militarily weak and with its own share of internal problems, doesn’t have the capacity to sustain a war with India, said retired army officers in the city.
On its part, India too would not like to pay the heavy price of war, they said. In their opinion, non-military steps taken by India, such as suspending the Indus Water Treaty or asking the IMF to review loans to Pakistan, would also lower the neighbour’s morale. They said India has shown its capability by precisely striking targets up to 100 km inside the Pakistan territory.
Colonel (retd) Vijay Sehgal, a Siachen warrior who commanded a Medium Regiment in Siachen, said to Free Press, “The ongoing Indo-Pak conflict is unlikely to escalate into a full-fledged war”, adding that “their air defence system failed. It could not detect or stop the missiles”.
But India maintained restraint and did not hit any civilian habitations or military installations in its Operation Sindoor. Only terrorist hideouts were targeted, he pointed out.
“The idea was not to escalate the situation while at the same time, sending out a clear message that we are capable of harming you more but are restraining ourselves,” said Colonel Sehgal, an instructor of Gunnery who taught Young Officers in the School of Artillery, Devlali.
According to the veterans, Pakistan has so many internal troubles that it wouldn’t want an external one. It has always been dominated by the army and by the Punjabis.
There have been disappearances from Baluchistan, said Col Sehgal, adding that there is resentment in that province. Similar is the situation in Sindh. On the Afghan border, he said, the Taliban are making violent excursions into Pakistan territory, they said.
Brigadier (retd) Bharat Bushan Dev said whether the confrontation would escalate into a war would largely depend on how Pakistan behaves. As for India, only the Indian government can tell what it wants.
These former officers, however, are largely of the view that India would not want to get entangled in a war. India is a growing economy and is developing at a decent pace. A war, they said, would derail the economy. That would only serve China’s interest, which sees India as its competitor in Asia.
Captain (retd) Puraskar Choubey was of the view that India should teach Pakistan alesson that it won’t forget easily.
