The War That Triggered a Paradigm Shift Global Strategic Forum - GSF Global Strategic Forum

Indo-Pak Conflict reshaping Regional Power Dynamics.

Ever since its inception Pakistan has always adopted congenial, amiable, and peaceful relations with all its neighbouring and friendly countries. But India has always treated Pakistan as an arch rival and has never left any stone unturned in harming Pakistan internally and externally. Some of the despicable precedents cannot be ignored in this connection.

Pakistan has had to fight four wars against its arch rival solely on the basis of Indian provocation and hegemonic designs. Most recently, India attacked Pakistani territories by launching an aggressive Operation Sindhoor in May this year in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist incident, without any solid or substantive reason to attack a neighbouring country armed with nuclear arsenals and an immaculate defence system. India aggressively attacked Pakistan on May 6 and May 7 which was unequivocally retaliated by Pakistan on May 10 by launching Operation Buniyanun Marsoos, destroying India’s S-400 defence system and BrahMos missile storage, inflicting heavy losses of men and material to India, besides downing six fighter jets including three Rafale jets.

Realising the horrible impacts of the ongoing war between India and Pakistan, the US President Donald Trump flung into action and mediated an immediate ceasefire between the two warring nations, and its due credit definitely goes to Donald Trump and his administration, specifically the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who talked to the leaderships of both countries simultaneously at that crucial historical juncture to defuse mounting tensions and establish peace in the region.

But quite astoundingly India has still been in a state of continuous denial, downplaying the role of mediation played by Trump which has irked the President, and his exasperation is quite visible in his interviews and press talks. It was more disturbing for India and Prime Minister Modi when, instead of meeting him on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June this year, the US President cut short his tour and rushed back to Washington to host the most coveted dinner for Field Marshal Gen Asim Munir from Pakistan.

In some of his remarks, the US President has eulogised Pakistan’s political and military leadership, while making some derogatory comments regarding Indian leadership after facing a humiliating defeat by Pakistan’s armed forces, particularly the Pakistan Air Force, in establishing air supremacy in South Asian skies.

Within a couple of months it seems that US policies regarding Pakistan have witnessed a paradigm shift by prioritising Pakistan’s interests over Indian concerns which is a pleasant surprise not only for Pakistan but also for the entire world. Experts have termed this new development a mesmerising prowess employed by the incumbent regime in Pakistan, its foreign office, diplomats, and military leadership to turn the tables within a few days.

Keeping these developments in mind, India must heed prudent voices raised from within to go for a retrospective analysis of its failures, and realise where it went wrong, while keeping in mind that Pakistan has an impregnable defence system and highly professional armed forces prepared to counter any hegemonic plans adopted by India.

After facing defeat in Operation Sindhoor, India has faced humiliation at national and international levels and a huge setback on the diplomatic front. Even a recent report presented before a US Congress committee has corroborated the poor performance of Indian armed forces, approving the stamp of superiority of Pakistan’s armed forces.

It is necessary for both nuclear-armed neighbours to come out of hegemonic shells and shun hostilities by giving a chance to trade, tourism, and cultural exchange, to promote peace and prosperity instead of trying to weed each other out.

The views presented in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Strategic Forum – GSF.