PakNationalists
In the never-ending theatrics of Pakistani politics, a key point is easily overlooked: that the country’s military has an eye on domestic stability while simultaneously dealing with United States and India on the western and eastern borders, respectively.
In fact, this is a big story. Pakistan’s military – Army, Navy and Air Force — are busy maneuvering to improve the country’s geo-strategic position, which deteriorated considerably ever since Islamabad joined the US-led coalition that occupies Afghanistan since 2001.
In this view, Pakistani military is coping and adapting to tremendous pressures.
India is a major concern. It invaded Pakistan unprovoked in 1971, exploiting chaos after a Pakistani election. Recent confessions by collaborators of the invading Indian army indicate a high degree of malice in Indian intentions. So this is a real threat that cannot be overlooked.
The country’s Armed Forces continue to quietly focus on military preparedness despite an unstable domestic political situation that often pulls the military into the mess even when the institution is least interested.
So on Tuesday, Jan. 31, while news headlines from Pakistan focused on the treasonous anti-Pakistan memo and the escape of its author from the country, few paid attention to formation-level military exercises on India’s border. The exercise was focused on the part of Indian border where Indian army invaded the country in 1965 and 1971.
The drills involved Pakistan Army, Air Force and special-ops units. In a brief press release, the military media office, the ISPR, said the training focused on desert combat and counterinsurgency.
There are three benefits that Pakistani soldiers gain from training in Bahawalpur, a region located between the two provinces of Sindh and Punjab, touching India to the east. The first is to train for peacekeeping operations in places like Darfur in Sudan and in other parts of Africa where Pakistani soldiers enforce peace under United Nations umbrella. The second benefit is to get familiar with the terrain in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states where Pakistani military trainers are deputed on long tours of duty. The third and most important benefit is to keep the Indians in check in the shared desert border regions.
Interestingly, just a few weeks after the Pakistani exercises, United States and India will launch their wargames on the Pakistan border in March 2012, codenamed ‘Yudh Abhyas’ in Sanskrit.