Journal of Defence Studies

Andaman and Nicobar Command: From an Experiment to an Inspiration

The Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) Islands are India’s gateways to the east and their significance in its national security calculus is increasingly being realised, as they fit perfectly in the jigsaw puzzle of India’s ‘Look East Policy’. They allow India to project its benign power and influence in consonance with its emerging status and role in the region. They also provide an ideal springboard for India to play a far more effective role in the area.

Operation Neptune Spear and Role of Technology

The US Special Forces undertook Operation Neptune Spear nicknamed “Geronimo” to kill Osama bin Laden on May 02, 2011. The importance of this operation is momentous. In the absence of any detailed disclosure by the US administration (till date) about the conduct of this operation, except the press conference held by intelligence officials immediately after the operation, it becomes difficult to study this operation in depth. On the other hand both multiple narratives of this operation are available in electronic and print media.

TNW in Nuclear First Use: The Legal Counter

Pakistan’s ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations) in a press release in April announced the development of the Nasr (Hatf IX) a ‘Short Range Surface to Surface Multi Tube (sic) Ballistic Missile’. According to the release, ‘the missile has been developed to add deterrence value to Pakistan’s Strategic Weapons Development programme at shorter ranges’. The Director General Strategic Plans Division, Lt Gen (Retd) Khalid Kidwai stated that it will help in ‘consolidating Pakistan’s strategic deterrence capability at all levels of the threat spectrum.’

Pakistan’s Military-Militant Cabal

Pakistan has for long been running with the hares and hunting with the hounds. While it has been a key partner of the international community in the war against terror, elements in Pakistani military establishment have been hand in glove with the very same terror outfits they are supposed to fight. This paper seeks to put a laser focus on the Janus-faced Pakistan and discuss Pakistan’s duplicitous conduct in dealing with the jihadists. A prime example of the Pakistani strategy in dealing with terror outfits is the Haqqani network which has been discussed in depth here.

Whither Aid? Future of US Assistance to Pakistan

Post 9/11, accepting the indispensability of Pakistan in solving the Afghan problem, US sanctioned massive flow of aid in Pakistan. Having committed substantial amount of aid henceforth, US feels its security objectives and efforts are frustrated by Pakistan’s duplicitous acts in the war against terror. In the wake of the Osama killing, US policy makers are debating how to devise an aid policy which could strike balance between short term objectives of counter terrorism and long term goal of stabilizing Pakistan by making aid more development oriented.

Understanding the Motivation of Pakistan’s Security and Defence Policies: Roots of Pakistan’s Emergence as the Epicentre of Terrorism

The idea of Pakistan survives on the premise of enmity towards India. This premise came into existence well before Pakistan became a reality. Some in Pakistan believe that the country started incubating the moment the first Muslim stepped on the soil of the subcontinent. That belief originates from the conviction that the Islamic civilisation cannot intermingle with another civilisation because it always seeks to conquer and subjugate.

Pakistan: Inter Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) – An Analytical Overview

The ISI was set up in 1948, shortly after the first war with India, to strengthen sharing of intelligence between the army, navy and air force. It was headed first by Maj Gen R. Cawthorne, one of the last British officers to leave Pakistan. He continued at the helm of ISI till 1956. Thereafter, for almost three years, it remained headless as Pakistan faced constitutional turmoil leading finally to Ayub Khan’s first martial law take-over. Ayub appointed Brig Riaz Hussain as ISI chief and he continued up to 1966.

The Pakistan Navy: A Transformation from ‘Fledgling Force’ to ‘Fighting Machine’

The Pakistan navy (PN) is poised on the brink of a transformation. Neglected for long by Pakistan’s political masters and a dominant Pakistan army, the PN was unable to assert its salience and witnessed slow growth. But in the one decade since the September 2001 attacks and the US led ‘war on terror’, it has undergone a striking metamorphosis. As Pakistan realises the importance of having a robust maritime force and commits greater resources for its development, the tactics of the PN and its broader strategy in the northern Arabian Sea too have undergone a shift.

Military-Intelligence-Militant Nexus in Pakistan: Fighting a War of Asymmetry against India

The sense of insecurity created by a regionally preponderant and militarily powerful India is the central catalytic factor that influences the dynamics of Pakistan’s regional security perception. The military-militant nexus in Pakistan, built around army’s misguided obsession with India, pursues strategic priorities in the name of protecting its national interests in Kashmir and Kabul. Sadly, both the Kashmir and Afghan policies of the military have started hurting Pakistan - internally and externally - more than India.

Radicalization of the Pakistan Army

A division of forces between the proposed Indian and Pakistani dominions and creation of a separate military establishment for the latter was necessitated by the partitioning of British India. An explosion of communal violence, triggered and later fuelled by the impending partition and the ethnic cleansing of the Hindus and Sikhs that preceded it in West Punjab, the mass migration of a very large number of population from and to Pakistan, the outbreak of war with India over Kashmir and the subsequent ‘Crush-India’ campaigns gave impetus to this requirement