Col (r) Ikram Ullah Khan
The recent undeclared brief but intense Indo-Pak war which lasted for only four days before it came to a sad ending for India in the shape of an unexpected and humiliating denouement, has utterly baffled not only the Indian military but also the war strategists world over.
Our arch-nemesis which thought itself invincible, and invaded Pakistan during the small hours of midnight in a bid to catch Pakistan off guard, was struck by surprise to find Pakistan military standing in front of them like a steel wall (Bunyanun Marsoos).
The way our valiant armed forces responded and shot down 5 Indian fighter jets including 3 Rafale in an aerial combat is unparalleled in the history of aerial warfare, perhaps only repeating the history of 1965 Indo-Pak war when squadron leader MM Alam shot down 5 Indian fighter jets in less than a minute, an unusual aerial feat unheard of in the history of warfare.
According to reports gleaned from different sources, more than 100 Indian fighter jets participated in the aerial combat (on the face of it, the number sounds quite hyperbolic) which is unprecedented in the history of air warfare. Additionally, our high-fidelity artillery guns successfully engaged the Indian military targets and destroyed one Indian brigade HQ and one battalion HQ in Indian occupied Kashmir.
As if it wasn’t enough, as a quid pro quo plus, on 10 May, right after morning prayers at around 4am, PAF struck back in order to level the score and targeted the Indian military bases successfully after making the Indians wait for four days and spend four sleepless nights.
The armed forces of Pakistan have proved their mettle and fighting prowess beyond any shadow of doubt as the most potent fighting force the world ever witnessed. They have established their image as one of the finest military might of the world.
Our PAF gave a shocking surprise to the Indian Air Force and inflicted a mortal blow, thereby completely unnerving the enemy by optimally employing the latest and most-sophisticated hybrid-war technology, including electronic/ cyber-war technology and information and space-war technology with consummate skill, and successfully targeted the Indian military bases at 26 different locations deep inside India and Indian Occupied Kashmir with 100% precision; and annihilated all those strategic military bases which were used for firing missiles on civilian population inside Pakistan. These air bases were also used to send Israeli-origin spy drones to different cities of Pakistan all of which were shot down.
The much-trumpted Indian air defence system S-400 was completely neutralized and incapacitated by using cyber-war technology before striking back, thus making it easier for our fighter jets duly equipped with medium-range Fatah missiles to operate without getting intercepted and with complete impunity to target Indian missile storage facility and air bases at different locations including Pathankot and Udhampur. It came as a veritable devastation for the Indian armed forces and forced the Indian government to come to negotiating table.
The Pak-India showdown has recaliberated the geostrategic balance of the South Asian region. It has shattered India\’s long-cherished hegemonic ambitions and brought home to Nerendra Modi the stark reality that it\’s not that easy to defeat Pakistan. Moreover, India should shed the assumed posture of a regional bully and come to grips with reality.
It\’s about time Modi got off his high horse, have both feet on the ground and sit with his Pakistani counterpart to discuss and resolve all the contentious issues including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir which is the mother of all issues.
The bottom line is: never ever underestimate your adversary, howsoever small and feeble it may appear in your eyes. The Indian civil and military leadership committed an epic blunder by underestimating Pakistan’s military muscle which resulted in a military fiasco for them.