Muradk
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One of the greatest leaders in contemporary human history created a nation and a nation state, Pakistan. Quaid-e-Azam said and did many profound things. Pakistan would have been a highly advanced modern nation-state had the successive leaders and rulers followed in spirit and action even a fraction of what the great Quaid left as his heritage. But alas, his name is used in vain by all and sundry who never cease to ask the people of this troubled state to eulogise the Quaid's example while they have, since his death continued to set the most degrading example of governance themselves. Ostensibly, there has been some silver lining towards the fulfilment of Quaid's hopes and aspirations. On 13th April, 1948 while addressing a fledgling bunch comprising the RPAF at Risalpur, the Quaid's very profound vision resounded the desolate air, as he said 'A country without a strong Air Force is at the mercy of any aggressor. Pakistan must build up her air force as quickly as possible. It must be an efficient air force second to none.' Half a century later, a very cautious and candid review of Pakistan's history would read unambiguously that the Pakistan Air Force is one establishment which came close to meeting the task assigned by the Quaid on that auspicious day. What the Pakistan Air Force could not achieve has been only because of resource and equipment deficiency. The moral fabric and professional integrity moulded by leaders like Air Marshals Asghar Khan, Nur Khan, and Rahim Khan has more than made up for the equipment deficiency in numbers and advanced technology. But in more recent years the intangibles like morale, leadership and professionalism have been found inadequate to meet the increasingly formidable challenges facing the Pakistan Air Force. More serious and reprehensible is the false propaganda started by a strong lobby consisting of pseudo strategists and other vested elements, who claim to be warfare specialists. They propound a theory of nuclear strategic balance with our adversary India and are misguiding the leadership as well as the public by expounding the invincibility of nuclear deterrence as a panacea for Pakistan's post-nuclear defence strategy, suggesting that the Armed Forces have a very diminished and marginalized role in Pakistan's defence. The generally ill-informed political elite has little knowledge or quest for learning where the modern trends of battle are heading to. The famous Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Lord Teddler said about half a century ago:
...Air power is the dominant factor in the modern warfare, and though the methods of exercising it will change; it will remain the dominant factor as long as power determines the fate of nations.
Until the eighties the air power seemed to assume a secondary role in the military sphere. However, in the last couple of decades its potentials in what is progressively a global scenario, combined with astonishing developments in weapons and technology of other nature, air power today is considered the 'Key to National Survival' by sane elements.
The breath-takingly-rapid developments in the field of air power have indeed completely revolutionized the art of warfare. Vital objectives can be reached by going over the heads of armies and navies. Air power, because of its high mobility, flexibility and adaptability and ubiquity makes it possible to bring concentrated force to bear quickly wherever it is needed. The distinguishing feature of air power is that as platform or vehicle it actually exploits the dimension it operates in. Air power has come to be recognized as the final arbiter of success in a military campaign. Sir Winston Churchill minced no words in acknowledging candidly the role of air power during his famous address at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1949):
For good or ill, air mastery is today the supreme expression of military power.
And fleets and armies, however necessary and important, must accept subordinate rank. This is a memorable milestone in the march of man.
From World War II onwards in Korea, colonial conflicts, Southeast Asia sub-continent, Middle East, Falkland, the Gulf, and now Kosovo, one can see air power actively involved in creating air superiority over the battle zones and conduct aerospace surveillance and strategic air bombardment. In each one of these theatres, air power has played a convincingly decisive role.
Pakistan Air Force, has historically been numerically at a disadvantage as compared to its adversary, the Indian Air Force. But in each confrontation from skirmishes in Kashmir and Kutch to the 1965 and '71 Indo-Pak Wars, the Pakistan Air Force has lived upto the Quaid's expectations and at times even beyond. May 1998 saw India going overtly nuclear. This shattered the strategic balance. After weighing its options, Pakistan gained the nuclear equilibrium. The euphoria of the newly acquired nuclear status, however, appears to cloud the vision of some of our opinion makers. They appear to be under the misconception that our recently attained nuclear status precludes the need for conventional weapons. They have perhaps forgotten that all conflicts invariably begin as conventional. Nuclear weapons, though ultimate in their destructive power, have never been employed in any theatre since World War II, even in the long drawn wars of Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. If this were not true, both USA and erstwhile USSR would have relied totally on their nuclear capability rather than spend billions of dollars and rubles in the development and maintenance of huge arsenals of conventional weapons. Nuclear weapons are not merely decisive but final as they mean the total annihilation of enemy population and cannot be used except as a final desperate measure. Thus we continue to live in an era of limited conventional wars, and of restraint in the use of force. This attitude towards conflicts shall consolidate further as the world is beginning to fully grasp the colossal horror of nuclear weapons.
Despite the fact that we have carried out nuclear tests, most of us are ignorant of the connotations of 'What is it to be a Nuclear Power?' Liddellhart, that master strategist has explained in very simple and precise terms the difference between being 'Nuclear Weapons Capable' and possessing 'Nuclear Deterrence'. Being 'Nuclear Weapons Capable' implies that a state has the capability to deliver a nuclear weapon to a designated target. On the other hand, to achieve the status of possessing 'Nuclear Deterrence', one must have the ability to absorb a pre-emptive nuclear first strike by the enemy and be able to retaliate effectively and destroy enemy's nuclear arsenals. This entails ensuring the survival of part of its population and nuclear weapons to continue the war. It has taken a world power like USA, nearly fifty years to achieve this capability by spending billions of dollars in constructing underground silos, Nuclear shelters and the wherewithal that goes with them.
We must be very clear in our minds that all we have achieved so far is a 'Nuclear Weapons Capability' and flaunting that so brazenly is not in the best interest of Deterrence. Islam teaches us to be modest about our strengths. The government must take extremely serious cognizance of irresponsible and vulgarity aggressive statements by self-preserving persons for personal aggrandizement. Only, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the Armed Forces Chiefs should make carefully weighted expressions, as they are working towards a d'tente with our adversary.
India will continue to play a cat and mouse game with us. It is congenitally used to that. We must outmanoeuvre them through diplomacy, high morale and national unity. A point to ponder here is that why the Indian Armed Forces have a lot of Tanks, SU-30s and numerous surface and sub-surface naval vessels. These weapons certainly fall in the category of 'Conventional Weapons' and are surely directed against Pakistan. Tanks, warships, aircraft carriers and submarines can hardly cross the mighty Himalayas or go around the Pacific to create a bulwark against China.
The Armed Forces of Pakistan have so far displayed a high standard of discipline and character by accepting the dictates of the national constitution. It is imperative for the Government to take cognizance of the genuine needs of the Armed Forces and continue to build our conventional capabilities. PAF, which will be the arbiter of success in any military conflict must be made as formidable as possible to deliver a decisive punch to its implacable adversary. It deserves special attention because its inventories are dwindling and unlike its sister services, . We must be clear in our minds that the enemy has long been deterred from putting its heinous plans against us into practice because of our highly trained and motivated Air Force, regardless of the age of its equipment. Let us not chance our luck for too long as the disparity in numbers and more dangerously a clear technological edge over the PAF is rapidly increasing. Let us bridge the gap before it becomes insurmountable. Although the PAF is well aware of its shortcomings in terms of numerical strength, it has always given a creditable account of itself; be it the 1965 and 1971 wars or the Afghan War. The psyche of the PAF is that it goes down fighting it would have taken such a heavy toll on the IAF that it will have sapped its entire moral and physical strength down to the bones and if it can hold its own against the IAF it will have come out equally triumphant. The morale of PAF is very essential and high morale comes from operating sophisticated weaponry. Technology today has come to represent the power base of nations. In air combat it is symbolized by the quality of aircraft, weapons and other support assets like AWACS and Air Defence Ground Environment (ADGE). Excellent training and motivation of combatants without the vital component of technology will only increase the pain and prolong their agony as the better armed side with lesser motivation will continue to inflict losses on them in 'a war of attrition'. No matter how much we detest the reality, there is no match between a swordwielding warrior and a gun-toting bandit. Thus the nation has no option but to improve upon its technological base or else to buy the finished products like advance weapon systems by making sacrifices. We should not wait for miracles to occur every time and expect David to slay Goliath in every encounter without even loading his sling shots.
...Air power is the dominant factor in the modern warfare, and though the methods of exercising it will change; it will remain the dominant factor as long as power determines the fate of nations.
Until the eighties the air power seemed to assume a secondary role in the military sphere. However, in the last couple of decades its potentials in what is progressively a global scenario, combined with astonishing developments in weapons and technology of other nature, air power today is considered the 'Key to National Survival' by sane elements.
The breath-takingly-rapid developments in the field of air power have indeed completely revolutionized the art of warfare. Vital objectives can be reached by going over the heads of armies and navies. Air power, because of its high mobility, flexibility and adaptability and ubiquity makes it possible to bring concentrated force to bear quickly wherever it is needed. The distinguishing feature of air power is that as platform or vehicle it actually exploits the dimension it operates in. Air power has come to be recognized as the final arbiter of success in a military campaign. Sir Winston Churchill minced no words in acknowledging candidly the role of air power during his famous address at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1949):
For good or ill, air mastery is today the supreme expression of military power.
And fleets and armies, however necessary and important, must accept subordinate rank. This is a memorable milestone in the march of man.
From World War II onwards in Korea, colonial conflicts, Southeast Asia sub-continent, Middle East, Falkland, the Gulf, and now Kosovo, one can see air power actively involved in creating air superiority over the battle zones and conduct aerospace surveillance and strategic air bombardment. In each one of these theatres, air power has played a convincingly decisive role.
Pakistan Air Force, has historically been numerically at a disadvantage as compared to its adversary, the Indian Air Force. But in each confrontation from skirmishes in Kashmir and Kutch to the 1965 and '71 Indo-Pak Wars, the Pakistan Air Force has lived upto the Quaid's expectations and at times even beyond. May 1998 saw India going overtly nuclear. This shattered the strategic balance. After weighing its options, Pakistan gained the nuclear equilibrium. The euphoria of the newly acquired nuclear status, however, appears to cloud the vision of some of our opinion makers. They appear to be under the misconception that our recently attained nuclear status precludes the need for conventional weapons. They have perhaps forgotten that all conflicts invariably begin as conventional. Nuclear weapons, though ultimate in their destructive power, have never been employed in any theatre since World War II, even in the long drawn wars of Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. If this were not true, both USA and erstwhile USSR would have relied totally on their nuclear capability rather than spend billions of dollars and rubles in the development and maintenance of huge arsenals of conventional weapons. Nuclear weapons are not merely decisive but final as they mean the total annihilation of enemy population and cannot be used except as a final desperate measure. Thus we continue to live in an era of limited conventional wars, and of restraint in the use of force. This attitude towards conflicts shall consolidate further as the world is beginning to fully grasp the colossal horror of nuclear weapons.
Despite the fact that we have carried out nuclear tests, most of us are ignorant of the connotations of 'What is it to be a Nuclear Power?' Liddellhart, that master strategist has explained in very simple and precise terms the difference between being 'Nuclear Weapons Capable' and possessing 'Nuclear Deterrence'. Being 'Nuclear Weapons Capable' implies that a state has the capability to deliver a nuclear weapon to a designated target. On the other hand, to achieve the status of possessing 'Nuclear Deterrence', one must have the ability to absorb a pre-emptive nuclear first strike by the enemy and be able to retaliate effectively and destroy enemy's nuclear arsenals. This entails ensuring the survival of part of its population and nuclear weapons to continue the war. It has taken a world power like USA, nearly fifty years to achieve this capability by spending billions of dollars in constructing underground silos, Nuclear shelters and the wherewithal that goes with them.
We must be very clear in our minds that all we have achieved so far is a 'Nuclear Weapons Capability' and flaunting that so brazenly is not in the best interest of Deterrence. Islam teaches us to be modest about our strengths. The government must take extremely serious cognizance of irresponsible and vulgarity aggressive statements by self-preserving persons for personal aggrandizement. Only, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the Armed Forces Chiefs should make carefully weighted expressions, as they are working towards a d'tente with our adversary.
India will continue to play a cat and mouse game with us. It is congenitally used to that. We must outmanoeuvre them through diplomacy, high morale and national unity. A point to ponder here is that why the Indian Armed Forces have a lot of Tanks, SU-30s and numerous surface and sub-surface naval vessels. These weapons certainly fall in the category of 'Conventional Weapons' and are surely directed against Pakistan. Tanks, warships, aircraft carriers and submarines can hardly cross the mighty Himalayas or go around the Pacific to create a bulwark against China.
The Armed Forces of Pakistan have so far displayed a high standard of discipline and character by accepting the dictates of the national constitution. It is imperative for the Government to take cognizance of the genuine needs of the Armed Forces and continue to build our conventional capabilities. PAF, which will be the arbiter of success in any military conflict must be made as formidable as possible to deliver a decisive punch to its implacable adversary. It deserves special attention because its inventories are dwindling and unlike its sister services, . We must be clear in our minds that the enemy has long been deterred from putting its heinous plans against us into practice because of our highly trained and motivated Air Force, regardless of the age of its equipment. Let us not chance our luck for too long as the disparity in numbers and more dangerously a clear technological edge over the PAF is rapidly increasing. Let us bridge the gap before it becomes insurmountable. Although the PAF is well aware of its shortcomings in terms of numerical strength, it has always given a creditable account of itself; be it the 1965 and 1971 wars or the Afghan War. The psyche of the PAF is that it goes down fighting it would have taken such a heavy toll on the IAF that it will have sapped its entire moral and physical strength down to the bones and if it can hold its own against the IAF it will have come out equally triumphant. The morale of PAF is very essential and high morale comes from operating sophisticated weaponry. Technology today has come to represent the power base of nations. In air combat it is symbolized by the quality of aircraft, weapons and other support assets like AWACS and Air Defence Ground Environment (ADGE). Excellent training and motivation of combatants without the vital component of technology will only increase the pain and prolong their agony as the better armed side with lesser motivation will continue to inflict losses on them in 'a war of attrition'. No matter how much we detest the reality, there is no match between a swordwielding warrior and a gun-toting bandit. Thus the nation has no option but to improve upon its technological base or else to buy the finished products like advance weapon systems by making sacrifices. We should not wait for miracles to occur every time and expect David to slay Goliath in every encounter without even loading his sling shots.
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