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September 25, 2015 Special Dispatch No. 6166

Pakistan Urdu Daily On Likely Pakistan-India War: 'If A Conventional War Takes Place, Pakistan Will Have The Upper Hand'; 'Almighty Allah… Has Given Us The Capability Of 'Buraq' (i.e. Drones)'

September 25, 2015
Pakistan | Special Dispatch No. 6166


Screen grab of the article

In a recent article, the widely circulated Pakistani Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Islam warned India that if it decides to go to war with Pakistan, it will get a bloody nose. The Urdu daily claimed that Pakistani army has become hardened dealing with the world's best armies on its borders, that terror incidents have made Pakistanis more resilient, and that playing with danger has become habitual for the Pakistani nation.

The article, "The Possibility of a New War With India" by Khawar Chaudhry, maintains that chances of war between India and Pakistan are low, and that the world powers will not let the two countries pursue this path.

Roznama Islam, which was launched in the early 1990s, is now published from seven Paksitani cities: Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Multan, Quetta, and Muzaffarabad (Pakistani Kashmir).

Following are excerpts from the article:

"[An Indian Minister Has Said:] India Can Start A Short War With Pakistan Or Conduct Secret Operation In Pakistan To Capture [Lashkar-e-Taiba Leader] Hafiz Saeed"

"Indian Information Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has threatened that 'India can start a short war with Pakistan or conduct a secret operation in Pakistan to capture [the founder of the Pakistani jihadi organization Lashkar-e-Taiba] Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim [the Indian mastermind of the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai who is now hiding in Pakistan]. Enemies of India should know that India is not ignorant in planning against them, and can go to any extent in order to achieve its goals.'

"Rathore is not the first person who has issued such statement about Pakistan. Before this, Indian Army Chief Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag had bragged: 'War against Pakistan can start so suddenly that it will not be able to recover. War will be for a short period.' In other words, the Indian Army Chief threatened an atomic war. Before him, many, including [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi, have bragged about wiping [Pakistan] from the face of the world. Indian politicians of every rank and ministers, including the army chief, are [also] dreaming of doing this.

"This commotion results in occasional unprovoked shooting on the working boundary and the Line of Control [the military control line that divides Kashmir]. Spraying explosives on localities has become second nature to it [i.e. India]. But its [India's] misfortune is that there is an army [of Pakistan] which is recognized for unique status by the world, [albeit] perhaps reluctantly.

"Numerically, our [Pakistan] Army is number four, after the Indian army - but it is one number above America. Not only that; it [Pakistan Army] has supremacy over India['s army] in performance, and is also superior in terms of thought and ideology. As I write these lines, the image of the bearded soldier of the Pakistan Rangers who was part of the August 16 parade [on the border post with India] is fixed in my mind. The way this young man look[ed] into the eyes of the enemy is the way and dignity of every soldier of Pakistan Army."

"If Pakistan Is Adding To Its Power [By Stockpiling Nuclear Weapons] Then It Is Acting As The Prophet Muhammad Did - So We Are Not Embarrassed About It"

"It is not by chance that that day, all the chairs and seats [at the parade] on the Sulemanki border [Pakistan-India border post near Lahore] were filled with men and women. On the other side, there were not more than 100-125 people. On our side, enthusiasm and passion was worth seeing One elderly man took the flag and let the enemy know that not only the youth of this nation but also [its] children and elderly know how to pounce on the enemy

"How we can maintain silence in response to Indian intrigues and statements? Starting with statements by our Foreign Office, the stories of the courage and strength of our army chief and defense minister are in the media. How India deviated from the path of negotiations by expressing its desire to include the occupied Jammu & Kashmir's puppet government in the negotiations [with Pakistan] is such a turn that it became a concern for the world. Due to this [turn], there is a kind of curiosity and fear in international media and diplomatic surroundings.

"The American magazine Newsweek has expressed doubts about a nuclear war between the two countries, based on statements issued and the situation [that prevails] on both sides. According to the magazine, there is a strong possibility that both countries have decided to pick up difficulties for themselves by leaving the negotiating table. Before that [i.e. before the Newsweek report] there was a news [item], quoting The New York Times, that Pakistan has 120 nuclear weapons, that it keeps adding to them, and that in a few years it will surpass all the countries [in stockpiling nuclear weapons] - whereas India has 100 nuclear weapons.

"The New York Times report is speculative and is nothing more than a figment of the imagination of an American think tank.  Even if it is true, a person like me would be glad. If Pakistan is adding to its power, then it is acting as the Prophet Muhammad did. So we are not embarrassed about it. Rulers and strategists have their own compulsions, and they deny such assertions [that Pakistan is stockpiling nuclear weapons]. That is why our Foreign Office has dismissed such reports."

"This Time, Our [Pakistan] Armies Will Not Only Alter Its [India's] Geographical Boundaries, But Also Its Ideological Boundaries; In Kashmir, The Lava Has Come To A Boil"

"About the question of whether both the countries are going to war, I think that there is no chance of that. Both countries understand full well that this is not an era of conventional warfare, and that no one can afford a nuclear war. First of all, America, Russia, Britain, China, and Japan will not allow them to go down that path. Assume that it [war] happens: Not only will the people of India and Pakistan be affected, but other nationalities can also be crippled. Even if the environmental problems are ignored, these countries will suffer economically. For this reason, they will not allow their traditional allies to go that way.

"If a conventional war takes place, Pakistan will have the upper hand. There are certain reasons for that. Most important is that Pakistan is currently not in a situation like it was in in  1971 [when the eastern wing of Pakistan seceded and became Bangladesh]. Pakistan's army has lived with world's best armies in the worst conditions, especially in the Afghanistan war; the continuing war against terrorism has not only increased the Pakistani Army's fighting capability, but it [Pakistan Army also] has developed on the psychological, diplomatic and ethical fronts.

"You can see the army that defeated the Russian army, the army without which not only America but also NATO became useless [in post-9/11 Afghanistan], the army which has worked with the cunning America and its hatchet army. For [the Pakistani army], defeating India is now not that difficult. Though India is a cunning country, and attacking from behind is its nature, its armies do not have such experience.

"Almighty Allah has done us a favor, in that He has given us the capability of Buraq (i.e. drones) and has made us the fourth such country in the world that can reach its targets successfully. Before that, only Russia, America, and Israel were in this field [of drone technology]. And it knows these things well. Then, we may have hundreds of thousands of differences internally, but no one can deny the reality: that terror incidents have hardened us, and playing with dangers has become the nature of this [Pakistani] nation.

"At this time, India is very keen for economic stability. Its partnership with China is an angle that stops it from responding harshly to Pakistan. It has become evident to it that if war happens, it would be decisive. This time, our [Pakistan] armies will not only alter [India's] geographical boundaries, but also its ideological boundaries. In Kashmir, lava has come to a boil. The Khalistan [Sikh separatist] movement is also not dying out. Other separatists have become active. In such a situation, Pakistan's strike will be deadly. We are already licking our wounds, we will bear this one also."

Source: Roznama Islam (Pakistan), September 10, 2015.

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