PM’s words signal no shift in Pak policy: Experts

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 25

It would be premature to equate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direct “address” to the people of Pakistan yesterday as the closure of options—diplomatic, military, economic or information warfare—in dealing with the neighbour after the Uri attack in Kashmir.

Addressing people of Pakistan, Modi yesterday blamed their “hukumrans” (rulers) of exporting terror.

Former Director General of Military Operation (DGMO) Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia (retd) says, “No signal came from the PM’s speech that any of the four options, diplomatic, military, economic or information warfare, were closed.” Lt Gen Bhatia is now the Director of the Ministry of Defence-backed think-tank, Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS).

A lack of visible military activity may not give an indication since it is designed to be that way. The “cold-start” doctrine – tweaked in military exercises over the past one decade—does not require the armed forces to make any visible preparations to move. The doctrine was established following “Operation Parakaram”—launched in December 2001 –after the terror attack on Parliament. The neighbour got enough time to react as it took almost two months for the forces to deploy fully.

Lt Gen SL Narsimhan (retd) a former defence attaché to China says, “I see no change. The military option remains to strike at the place and time of our choice.” “Yes, the Pakistani media is trying to project it as change of stance, but this is erroneous,” said Lt General Narsimhan, who recently retired as the Commandant of the Army War College at Mhow.

The modern Army, the Air Force and the Navy have their own launch pads that are fully stocked. Missiles like the BrahMos (300-km range) are “forward” located; artillery guns (40-km range) dot the Radcliffe Line; all three strike corps backed by tanks face Pakistan; frontline fighter jets such as Sukhoi 30-MKI are stationed less than 150 km away from the western border; specialised planes fitted with high-resolution Israeli radars can pick up movements across the entire breadth of Pakistan; a flotilla of the Navy is always sailing in the Arabian sea. To back this, the forces have their own dedicated satellite.