India preparing for conventional war with Pakistan, claims Pak daily

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Recent developments on the eastern border have alarmed Pakistani policymakers and military officials, who are keenly observing India’s preparations for a conventional war with Pakistan in the context of the Cold Start war doctrine, a Pakistani newspaper has said.

There has been a chain of developments, all tied to the overall scheme of things, which aims at destabilising its neighbour and building a formidable war machine to strike within the Pakistani borders, The News reports.

First, in the context of current events, is Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s recent visit to New Delhi and the signing of a strategic accord with India at the heels of High Peace Council leader Burhanuddin Rabbani’s assassination.

"While one side of the equation that has been brought into the spotlight shows that the accord will pave the way for India to train the Afghan armed forces and police, the other side that remains veiled could contain clauses that may affect Pakistan’s internal and external security," the paper said.

"According to policymakers here in Islamabad, the accord requires careful thought at all levels. The critical point to remember is that India has no role whatsoever in Afghanistan yet Indian interference and policies are at the root of many of the problems that Pakistan is facing today," it added.

Secondly, the Indian army is holding a massive two-month long winter exercise- involving battle tanks and artillery guns besides Indian Air Force assets- at the Pakistan border, bringing a potent strike corps, the Bhopal based 21 Corps, in the Rajasthan desert, the paper said.

"Intriguingly, ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ Corps will be aiming to build its capacities for 'breaching the hostile army’s defences and capturing important strategic assets deep inside enemy territory'. The exercise is the third of its kind this year… The question is: why is India holding three massive war games in a year at the Pakistan border that aim at capturing important strategic assets deep inside the enemy territory?" it added.

Third, a key development across the border has been the deployment of Su-30 fighter aircraft near the Pakistan border, the paper said, adding that the significance of the fact that the aircraft is the most sophisticated in the region and that it has been deployed along the Pakistan border at this crucial juncture is not lost on policymakers in Islamabad.

Two other related but under-reported events have been the extension of the runway at Kargil by India and its decision to acquire six more C-130J aircraft, the latest version of the intractable workhorse, reinforcing fears in Islamabad that New Delhi is preparing for a war that may engulf the whole region, the paper said.