Pakistan’s ‘thousand cuts’ strategy backfires: India stands strong as Islamabad bleeds on all fronts

New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) For decades, Pakistan’s policy has been to bleed India by a thousand cuts. In order to achieve this, Islamabad has indulged in a proxy war and also armed and financed terror groups to battle India.

Operation Sindoor was, in fact, a turning point for Pakistan. It exposed Islamabad’s vulnerability and also showcased the strength of the Indian armed forces, which hit targets both in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Today, Pakistan stands at the crossroads and is in a fix as it faces a war on almost all its borders.

Clearly, the strategy of the Pakistan Army and its chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is in disarray. The army has been beaten down by the Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Nationalist Army (BLA). The biggest hit that Pakistan has taken is from the Taliban. Afghanistan was always a country that Pakistan looked to fall back upon for operations in case of a military conflict with India. Further, Pakistan had been trying to use Afghanistan as a launch pad for terror groups to strike in India.

The conflict with the Taliban is something that Pakistan may not have anticipated. The Taliban is clearly not an easy organisation to fight. The Taliban fighters do not fight in a structured manner, as it does not follow the standard rules of engagement. This is one of the main reasons why the Pakistan Army is facing embarrassing losses in the battle against the Taliban.

Analysts say that Pakistan failed because it overestimated its might. Pakistan thought that it could remain relevant by battling a proxy war against India. A proxy war meant no accountability, and this had worked for the country for a long time. However, India’s national security strategy has changed a lot in recent years.

Operation Sindoor signalled that India would not take terror attacks lying down. In fact, this operation, which was carried out to avenge the Pahalgam attack, not just decimated terror camps and training centres, but also broke the morale of both the army and terror groups in Pakistan.

The Indian agencies have always warned about a two-front war scenario on the northern border with China and the western border with Pakistan. India has largely sorted out the situation, while also ensuring that the security forces are always on guard.

Looking at the way the situation is unfolding in Pakistan, it is clear that the country is at war on every front. It shares an international border with India, Iran and Afghanistan. Additionally, it also shares a border with China in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Pakistan has a problem on every border. While the Taliban is fighting Pakistan on the Afghanistan border, the BLA is posing a huge risk on the border with Iran.

What Pakistan has realised today is that it read the situation wrong all along. Its primary focus has been to secure the eastern front with India, although Islamabad has always been the aggressor. In this bargain, it took the western front with Afghanistan lightly. Pakistan clearly misread the entire situation and continued to follow the strategy that was implemented by General Zia-ul-Haq, who viewed Afghanistan as a buffer against India.

Islamabad, not once read that the situation in Afghanistan could change, especially under the Taliban and failing to do so has landed the country in the current situation that it is in. It is clear today that the military strategy with the Taliban has failed due to Pakistan’s overemphasis on its anti-India policy.

The Taliban is loosely structured and has no proper command, which makes negotiations difficult. This is why Indian officials feel that the 48-hour ceasefire between the Taliban and Pakistan is a delicate one, and the temporary truce could fall apart easily.

In a nutshell, Pakistan has failed to have a policy that is evolving. In its bid to inflict a thousand cuts on India, it has ignored all other borders. The end result of this is a battle with Pakistan, insurgency in Balochistan and anti-government protests that do not seem to die in PoK.

–IANS

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