

Image The Friday Times
My Thoughts on the Indo-Pak Situation
By Dr Khalid Siddiqui
Ohio

The world leaders who have access to FACTS, and have an interest in South Asia, will give serious thought to their strategies in the future:
1. Modi: He would be one of the most depressed people in the world today along with his cronies. His dream to project himself as the bulwark against China has been shattered. He has no place to hide. People like Sawhney, Thapar, and Arundhati Roy will expose him and his policies.
2. USA and its allies: Their leaders would be shocked to see India, who they were propping up against China, crumble against a failed state like Pakistan. How would it stand up against China? Pravin Sawhney made a very bold statement in his interview. When Karan Thapar asked him how the Indian planes would fare against China, he said that that wouldn’t happen because Chinese’s cyberattacks would keep them grounded and the whole fleet would be destroyed before any plane would have a chance to take off.
3. China: Must be smiling from ear to ear. It made a fool of India all over the world. It also established the superiority of its military equipment and the application of cyberspace technology. Now it would get orders for its planes and missiles from the mid-income and poor countries.
4. Taiwan: Taiwanese will be shivering in their pants. They will lose trust in the QUAD as most of the load was supposed to be carried by India. But as India performed so poorly in its own backyard, how could it deliver against China in the Pacific Ocean. Taiwanese leaders would be seriously thinking about making some kind of accommodation with China.
5. Pakistan: Pakistan will get short-term appreciation in the world, especially among the Asian and African countries. But there would be no long-term gains. There wouldn’t be any political compromises from India. The only person who could have negotiated forcefully with India was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, but he is dead. Imran Khan could have been another choice, but he is in jail, and out of power. I don’t think India would even sit down on the table with Pakistan. It is only a ceasefire and not a surrender. The only good news for Pakistan is that, most probably, India wouldn’t try any false-flag operations in future. At the same time, it is doubtful if India will honor the ceasefire.
6. Afghanistan: If India did fire that missile into Afghanistan INTENTIONALLY, and if Afghanistan has any self-respect, it shouldn’t allow India to use its territory for terrorist activities. It is up to Pakistan to tackle the Afghanistan problem, now that its eastern border is secure for some time. I have a feeling that India may apologize to Afghanistan and call the missile attack a mistake.