Daily Times

The South Asian region is the home of instability and insecurity because of the historical enmity between India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan fought three major wars, and remain involved in limited clashes. Nuclear weapons brought some strategic stability to the region, but India as an aggressor state always tries to initiate military offenses under nuclear threshold. The Pulwama incident happened on February 14, and brought both the states to the brink of war. India soon after, started accusing Pakistan of being involved in it. Indian aircraft violated Pakistan air space, which intensified the situation in the region. Pakistan respond rationally and dropped down two Indian aircrafts and captured one Indian pilot, who was later released to show the world that Pakistan is a peace-loving country which always wants to resolve issues through dialogue. On the one hand, Pakistan wants to deescalate the tensions but on the other hand Indian leadership is trying to escalate matters further to achieve political goals. International community also tried to convince both states for de-escalation of tension.

In this scenario, Indian current developments such as India-Russia deal for nuclear powered submarine, induction of new anti-tank guided missile ‘Nag’ and Pinaka guided rocket system can further escalate the ongoing conflict between two states and become a challenge for existing strategic stability of South Asia.

On the one hand, Pakistan wants to deescalate the tensions but on the other hand, the Indian leadership is trying to escalate matters further

Despite naval advancement, Indian submarine was detected and successfully thwarted by Pakistan naval force on March 4, when it tried to enter into Pakistani water. Soon after this incident, India and Russia signed a deal to give Russian nuclear-powered submarine Akula-II class submarine to India on lease for ten years. This agreement shows that India is significantly improving its naval power to create hegemony on Indian Ocean Region. It is very controversial that on the one hand the international community wants to resolve the ongoing crisis between India and Pakistan but at the same time, they are signing defence deal with India.

Furthermore, India developed Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) known as Nag. ATGM Nag is part of Indian Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). The Nag missile is third generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile \ which works on ‘fire and forget’ principle. Nag has the capability to target tank at different ranges and in different timings. Its operational range is 500m to 4km inland version and 7 to 10km in the air. Thirdly India indigenously developed Pinaka guided rocket system which has the range of 40km which will be further enhanced up to 75km till 2020. Pinaka guided rocket system will further enhance the artillery capability to make precision hits.

Indian military and naval advancement at this time when tension is high between India and Pakistan is a challenging situation for the existing strategic stability of South Asia. India adopted offensive military doctrine in 2004 which is specifically designed for Pakistan. Pakistan in response developed TNWs which are effectively deterring India from initiation of offensive military actions. Though presently India is not in position to launch quick and surprise offense against Pakistan but these new developments can affect the existing stability of South Asian Region and further intensify the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan. In order to resolve the issues between two states, the international community should play an unbiased and effective role to maintain the existing strategic stability in South Asia.

Writer is a Research Associate at Strategic Vision Institute Islamabad