Col (r) Ikram Ullah Khan
The term “New Normal” is generally used for a scenario which is above normal and where the threshold of the existing situation is raised above normal, demanding a new strategy to be adopted and where new parameters are set and new measures are taken as and when the situation demands.
To a common reader, the term is quite baffling and elusive. It carries varied meaning when used in different contexts. For instance, in political, social and economic context, a “new normal” is a state which emerges when the situation settles and stabilizes after an intense crisis, and differs from the situation that prevailed prior to the crisis. Moreover, it refers to a strange routine, unusual standard and unfamiliar order which is adopted during unusual and extraordinary circumstances.
The formal usage of the term goes back to 20th century when it was employed retroactively in the context of World War 1, World War 2, 9/11 terrorist attacks, the COVD-19 pandemic and a few other events of unusual magnitude. But In the context of war, it refers to a novel strategy employed which is characterized by moving away from traditional methods of warfare. In the context of Pak-India perennial hostility, it means “to be in a perpetual state of war against the enemy” always ready to respond swiftly as and when the occasion demands as is obvious from the statement of Modi saying that the ceasefire between India and Pakistan is a temporary measure and that “Operation Sindoor” has not been called off; it continues and forms a permanent feature of India’s new strategy, “the New Normal”.
In the context of Pak-India hostility, the term was coined and employed by Indian strategists which reflects the war policy adopted by Indian government against Pakistan after having lost the assumed status of a regional hegemon as a result of the ignominious defeat it suffered at the hands of Pakistan in the recent 4-day fleeting war which India imposed on Pakistan during the wee hours of 6/7 May 2025.
Here, making a slight departure from the main topic, I deem it worth mentioning that the lesson learnt from the recent Israel-Iran 12-day war is that in the first place, you need to have a very strong and robust air force with the most modern fifth-generation fighter aircrafts with advanced radar-absorbing technology and internal weapon bays and foolproof air defence systems like the US THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence), China’s HQ-19 and Russia’s S-400 in its inventory duly equipped with the latest avionics (the science and technology of electronics, aeronautics and astronauts) like stealth technology and advanced sensors which have become essential components of a fifth-generation fighter jet in today’s aerial combat scenario, and most sophisticated radar system synchronized with the ground-based air defence system, thus creating a perfect symphony between man and machine besides effective use of cyber technology in order to neutralize the enemy defence system and keep itself off the enemy radar, thus making itself safe from being detected. Additionally, maintaining a minimum credible nuclear deterrence is a must in order to avert enemy aggression and effectively keep it at bay.
Coming back to the main subject, Nerandar Modi’s post-war rhetoric asserting that blood and water can’t flow together, terror and talk can’t go together, and zero-tolerance policy for terrorists and the like, seem to be a crude attempt to shield himself behind a drummed-up terror story and appease the furious public in the first place, and secondly, to set parameters for his so-called “New Normal”. The self-righteous Modi through such impulsive assertions tries to garner public confidence which he has lost so badly after 4-day conflict with Pakistan, and prepare grounds for another attack on Pakistan after staging another false flag operation which can’t be ruled out.
Nerander Modi who never gets tired of blaming Pakistan for terrorism, himself promotes the same as a state policy and sponsors his proxies like BLA, BLF, PTM and TTP who are committing act of terrorism inside Pakistan without letup. He is on record as saying that India will bleed Pakistan to the last drop without waging a formal war. What an irony that he, who himself is the chief promoter of terrorism is brazenly laying the blame at Pakistan’s door. He ignores the famous saying of Abraham Lincoln which goes: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time”. By constantly lying, Modi has lost the credibility and no leader of the world is ready to believe him.
So keeping in view the Indian policy of the so-called “New Normal” and its incredibly aggressive posture, Pakistan needs to remain on guard all the time in order to respond swiftly to any misadventure that India my resort to in a sheer desperation and in order to remove the stigma it has earned in the recent 4-day aerial combat with Pakistan.