Kashmir key part in Pak army book
NEWDELHI: Kashmir appears to be the focus of the 2020 edition of an internal publication of the Pakistan Army, with its chief Gen Qamar Bajwa describing last year’s Balakot air strike and the nullification of Jammu & Kashmir’s special status as events that impacted regional geo-politics.
A majority of articles in the latest edition of the publication by army officers, former diplomats, academics and journalists reference the Kashmir issue, and offer suggestions ranging from creating a Kashmir Fund to support people in the Indian Union territory, and adopting information and cyber warfare by establishing communications links inside the Kashmir Valley.
The Green Book 2020, a biennial publication of the Pakistan Army with essays by both serving and retired officers that reflect the military’s overall strategy and objectives, also has a message by Bajwa that describes Kashmir as a “nuclear flashpoint”.
In his message in Green Book 2020, posted on the website of Pakistan's National Defence University (NDU), Bajwa says the environment in South Asia continues to be complex, with the lines getting blurred between different types of warfare.
“Year 2019 witnessed two sig“Kashmir nificant events which will have lasting imprint on the geopolitics of this region; first, the unwarranted Balakot Strike by Indian Air Force on 26th February and second, the unilateral annexation of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir by [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi on 5th August, through abrogation of Article 370 and 35A,” Bajwa wrote in the message issued as patron-in-chief of the publication.
“Former was a coercive attempt to carve out space for war under nuclear overhang and enforce compellence; adroitly denied by Pakistan Air Force the very next day, through a calibrated and proportionate response – Indian craving for establishing a New Normal was stymied comprehensively. The latter, despite condemnation by the world at large, continues to haunt the lives of over eight million Muslims of [Kashmir]…,” he added.
THE GREEN BOOK 2020, A BIENNIAL PUBLICATION OF PAKISTAN ARMY WITH ESSAYS THAT REFLECT ITS STRATEGY AND OBJECTIVES, ALSO HAS A MESSAGE BY ITS CHIEF CALLING KASHMIR A ‘NUCLEAR FLASHPOINT’
Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint and in total disregard to international norms, Mr Modi has not only endangered the immediate neighbourhood, but has also raised the ante for the entire World. The scholarly discourse in current edition of Pakistan Army Green Book has accordingly spotlighted the implications of these events from diverse perspectives and dimensions,” Bajwa further wrote.
Some recent editions of the Green Book had focused on the internal threat posed by terrorist groups but this year’s edition marks a return to the traditional focus on India as Pakistan’s greatest threat.
Several articles in the Green Book dwell at length on the Pulwama terror attack by the Jaishe-Mohammed (JeM) in February last year that triggered a fresh stand-off between India and Pakistan, the Indian Air Force strike on a JeM facility at Balakot and the retaliatory action by the Pakistan Air Force.
The articles make references to other events such as the 1999 Kargil conflict and the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which led to face-offs between the two countries, but make no mention of the role of Pakistan-based elements in triggering these events.
Lt Gen (retired) Raza Muhammad Khan, a former Corps Commander and former president of NDU, in his article “The prospects and panacea of peace in South Asia”, recommended the creation of a “domestic and international Kashmir Fund”, saying it could crowd sourced and Pak government “should provide tax incentives for donations”.
Journalist Farzana Shah, who focuses on defence issues, wrote in her article “National security & emerging geopolitical scenario: Post Article 370 obliteration”, that Pakistan should adopt an out of the box solution by taking “the war into non-kinetic domains” such as information and cyber warfare and electronic warfare.
Pakistan’s establishment “must provide support to diplomatic efforts being done by government through operations in these two domains with focused goal of extracting authentic information from stakeholders in [Kashmir], most importantly from general public…Once information [is] gathered, FO [Foreign Office] must disseminate it with proper narrative of the state of Pakistan,” she wrote.
“A single video or picture can change perception of India, which it has built so painstakingly over years. Pakistan needs to keep world attention on [Kashmir] and in order to do that communication inside Kashmir] valley must be established…If executed properly and local uprising occurs inside [Kashmir], it will make it difficult for India to keep selling the terrorism card….”