Shiban khaibri
Should not the oft repeated threats of Pakistan to India about having nuclear weapons be treated by the quantum of derision it warrants? Is it not despicable when the threat comes very recently from none other than a supposedly responsible person like Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz who was a week back expected in New Delhi to discuss with his Indian counterpart, ways and methods of how Pakistan was going to contain elements, both state and non state, responsible for sponsoring, funding, arming, indoctrinating and facilitating terrorist operations against our country? Not only Aziz but other members in the Pakistani establishment, in the recent past, have made similar statements against our country which again looks not only wholly irresponsible and not behoving a civilized country but is reminiscent of a situation where whole series of illusions stand between Pakistani establishment and the reality. Does Pakistan take great joy in time and again “proclaiming” that it has bombs and could use against India, a peace loving country, the one which has for centuries together given to the world the concept and the reality of peace and which has never and never ever boasted of its nuclear power and dexterity to handle it and if need be, to use it for self defence.
No doubt, India lost the 1962 Sino – Indian war but in that loss also, the world, at large, knew India better in that we proved to have been waylaid by treachery and robbed; deceit, duplicity and lies of the trusted friend got debunked. We got a wakeup call and we stood up to face challenges. While on the one hand, friendship and trust both were grossly violated and instead of having any sympathy for us, on the other hand, Pakistan waged a war against us in 1965 thinking that India would have hardly managed its defence affairs in a short period of less than three years. It thought that occasion the right moment, and with “Patton tanks ” and “F -86 Saber jets” attacked India in the hope to “reach New Delhi” as the then military dictator Ayub Khan had told a visiting foreign dignitary, on being asked as to where “their next meeting would take place”. As is said that the “vanquished takes the best spoils home from the battle field”, Indian valiant soldiers did not even allow Pakistan to do that and numerous captured Patton tanks made a spectacle at many of our road squares. They can be seen even now in a crippled and dumb state at many Indian places. It is another thing that a total defeat at the hands of India in 1965 war is “celebrated” as victory day and army day across Pakistan. Noted Pakistani Historian and political economist, Akbar. S. Zaidi has dispelled the victory myth saying that “there could be no bigger lie”. This deception and duplicity has been the state policy of Pakistan. Under these circumstances, it can be visualized how much the nuclear threat to India from Pakistan is laden with stupidity and sham under the framework of preposterousness. Its repetition is simply morbidity of hypocrisy. The deposed and self exiled and returned home as an accused, former ruler of Pakistan General Musharaf with intent to partly whip up public sentiment and largely with an aim to please the hawks in military and civil administration in Pakistan, went as far as drawing an analogy of the nuclear weapons with “Who do we have these nuclear weapons for , do we have nukes saved to be used on Shab – e – Baraat?” he further said,” We are not a small power , we are a major and nuclear power.”This statement though smacking of the farthest extent of irresponsibility and political inanity shows as to what Pakistan is up to and what its designs are against India, Gen. Musharaf’s locus standi notwithstanding.
On the contrary, Pakistan army Chief Gen. Raheel has demonstrated a sense of some reality about using of these weapons and he believes that Pakistan cannot use its nuclear stockpile, not even the small tactical battlefield nuclear weapons which it has been developing. The reason behind this is simple that when India retaliates, that would cripple that country and its very existence could land in irrevocable jeopardy. India, especially under the matured leadership of Narendra Modi, without thinking it worth to rebuff Aziz and others over the nuclear blackmail has ensured that from within Pakistani establishment, it got the bluff suitably called. Even remotely, any nuclear retaliation by Pakistan to India’s conventional military attack to defend its territorial integrity would result in its annihilation. These consequences of any misadventure of the sort by Pakistan, the experts in Pakistan know, United States of America knows, Russia and China know.
Countries which are adversaries, inter-se, having nuclear capabilities as a matter of fact never engaged themselves in nuclear attacks as that would mean their simple annihilation. In days when cold war was at its peak and interests of the then two big powers were even in competitive challenging situations, they neither encouraged a nuclear conflict nor kept threatening each other. Then what for is Pakistan developing nuclear warheads at a rapid pace? With the current speed it is embarking upon to have more such warheads than India and within a decade or two, could outpace many a conventional nuclear country like France and Britain. This shows how much is Pakistan either ignorant of the stupidity of stockpiling of nuclear weapons or just wants to threaten and attempt to blackmail India to discuss Kashmir in its favour , thus hoping against the hope. The fact that in PoK, not only are there people in revolt against Pakistan for enslaving that part of India but the processions, demonstrations and leaders’ speeches have made it known, call it Modi effect , PoK to be part of India. They are sick of atrocities on them and exploitation of their natural and mineral wealth. This has given a huge set back to the Pakistani establishment after simmering Baluchistan where reports of hoisting Indian tricolor at many places recently is reminiscent of conveying at least that Indian system of governance, democracy, equality before law, freedom of religion, freedom to expression and above all economic development were far more better and pro- people than any Pakistani form.
Pakistan being an unstable democracy where there are different fountain heads of authority, mishandling of nuclear weapons could not be ruled out and home grown terrorism was itself a threat to the security of Pakistan in case any such device fell in the hands of terrorists. Pakistan’s attempts to bring in terror perception and nuclear threat against India was a futile attempt on its part to bridge the gap of vast difference in power , strength, fighting capabilities, techniques, bravery and professionalism between the armies of the two countries. The question is as to whether the international community should have allowed a state like Pakistan to develop nuclear capabilities especially when there was never a threat to its security or territory from India? All types of aggression whether small or otherwise against this country right from 1947 to date have been coming from Pakistan and India never initiated. What role, therefore, should India have played, the main target of the maneuverings of Pakistan, to thwart any building up of nuclear capabilities right in the inception, a declassified report by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) dated Sept8, 1981 says that the then Indian Government was concerned about the progress made by Pakistan on its nuclear weapons programme . In the extreme case, the report says, “If Indian concerns increase over the next two or three months, we believe the conditions could be ripe for a decision by PM Indira Gandhi to instigate a military confrontation with Pakistan…..” These had the potentiality of neutralizing any such facilities there. Let Pakistan abandon these childish pranks , as they prove absolutely ridiculous and contemptuous.
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