Category Archives: Pakistan military

The Cost of Localising BRICS

Posted on October 22, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

Published as the ‘Open Essay’ in ‘Open’ magazine dated 21 October 2016, at http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/essay/the-cost-of-localising-brics ——— Let’s not induce the world to re-hyphenate India and Pakistan HERE’S A CONTRAFACTUAL: Say, the terrorist attack on the Army camp in Uri hadn’t happened, … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Africa, Asian geopolitics, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Central Asia, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, disarmament, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Internal Security, Israel, Latin America, Missiles, Myanmar, Nepal, nonproliferation, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, nuclear power, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, SAARC, South Asia, South East Asia, Sri Lanka, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Terrorism, United States, US., Weapons | Tagged | 7 Comments

Dissolving to farce

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

It never takes long for an India-Pakistan fracas to dissolve into a farce. The unintended fun has arisen from the Bharatiya Janata Party government not giving up on the “surgical strike” issue to wring every last drop of political capital … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Bangladesh, civil-military relations, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, indian policy -- Israel, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Internal Security, Israel, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism | 12 Comments

Modi policy in tatters

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is finding his foreign (cum military) policy in tatters on several fronts. His attempt to coerce Pakistan into acknowledging that there’s a new game afoot and that every terroprist incident will trigger a prompt response in … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian para-military forces, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Military Acquisitions, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, nuclear power, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism, UN, United States, US., Weapons | 18 Comments

Battle of “befitting replies”

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

The unending Indian claims and celebrations about the “surgical strike” Sept 28 across the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir and the Pakistani refutations that any such intrusion happened across what they call the “working boundary” are transiting from … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Culture, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian Navy, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, SAARC, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism | 41 Comments

Let the Army have a go at the LeT/JeM in PoK!

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

I wrote the last post yesterday that the reaction to the Baramulla strike on the RR camp ought to be a sustained operation against the terrorists deep inside PoK. This morning, Economic Times on its front page had an intriguing … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian para-military forces, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Special Forces | 34 Comments

What now after Baramulla?

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

The Pakistan army’s being more agile and faster on the draw and initiative means that India will always be wrongfooted. Apparently, the targeted state is far from comatose as defence minister Manohar Parrikar prematurely declared it as anesthetized — a … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian para-military forces, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Israel, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, society, South Asia, Special Forces, United States, US. | 12 Comments

Let the lesser state know

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

(The basic argument made in the previous post (Hindustan Times) is fleshed out with brief analyses of the diplomatic initiatives in the past ten days in this piece published in the ‘Open’ magazine, 30 September 2016 at http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/comment/let-the-lesser-state-know. Incidentally the … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian para-military forces, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, SAARC, society, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Terrorism, United States, US. | 14 Comments

Surgical strikes: A face-saving move or planned retaliation?

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

Amid the self-congratulatory noises emanating from the BJP government and the satisfied snorting of the media commentators in the aftermath of the “surgical strikes” on jihadi targets 2-3 kms across the Line of Control (LoC), several contentious issues have come … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Culture, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, SAARC, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism | 23 Comments

Efficacy of India’s diplomatic response to Uri — Rajya Sabha TV

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

There was a panel discussion, involving Lt Gen Mohammad Ata Hasnain (Retd), former GOC 15 Corps, ex-Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal and myself in the Rajya Sabha TV programme ‘India’s World’ on “How effective is India’s diplomatic response to Pakistan” recorded … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, civil-military relations, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Maldives, Pakistan, Pakistan military, SAARC, society, South Asia, Sri Lanka, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Terrorism, United States, US., West Asia | 1 Comment

The Surgical Attacks Will Change the Rules of India-Pakistan Game

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

The Director-General of Military Operations, Indian Army, Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh’s announcement that India had launched a series of strikes on the night of 28 September against seven different “launch pads” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) that jihadi terrorists used for … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Pakistan, Pakistan military, SAARC, society, South Asia, Terrorism, UN, United States, US. | 15 Comments