India-Pakistan: Conflict with no clear winner
Paris, France: A ceasefire between India and Pakistan has calmed fears of all-out war and despite conflicting claims, experts say no clear victor emerged in the brief conflict between the nuclear-armed foes.
No clear winner
Both South Asian countries claim to have achieved their goals in their worst conflict since 1999, without admitting significant losses.
Four days of intense fighting began last Wednesday when India launched strikes against what it described as "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan.
India claims Pakistan backs the militants it says were behind an April attack in which 26 people were killed in Kashmir -- a charge Islamabad denies.
"If victory is defined by who lost the most manned aircraft, then India certainly lost this one," said Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie think tank.
"But India also succeeded in effectively interdicting a range of Pakistani surface targets and imposing significant costs on Pakistan," Tellis told AFP.
"Both sides continue to claim air-to-air kills, but clear evidence remains unavailable at the time of writing," said Fabian Hoffmann from the University of Oslo.
"What stands out is the extensive use of conventional long-range strike systems by both sides to target military infrastructure deep within enemy territory, including sites near their capitals," he added.
Nuclear powers
While slow to begin with, the international community, including the United States, eventually intervened, alarmed by the possibility of further escalation.
Hoffmann said the bitter foes showed little restraint despite the absence of "deliberate strikes on critical civilian infrastructure".
"Any shift in that direction would... potentially bring the conflict closer to the threshold of nuclear use," said Hoffmann.
The global trend towards violence, especially by states facing internal turmoil, demands greater international vigilance, according to Tellis.
The fact that both countries are nuclear powers "makes the conventional balances all the more important. But the fact remains that neither side has a decisive conventional edge in a short war," said Tellis.
Drones on the frontline
Like other modern conflicts, this one confirmed the "widespread" use of drones for warfare, according to Oishee Majumdar from British intelligence firm Janes.
Israel Aerospace Industries' exploding drones Harop and Harpy, as well as reconnaissance drone Heron were used by India, Majumdar told AFP.
According to specialist site Military Balance, India also deployed Indian drones Nishant and Drishti.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
31 minutes ago
- News18
Russia Says Shot Down 162 Ukrainian Drones Overnight
Last Updated: Russia intercepted 162 Ukrainian drones overnight, hours before Kyiv and Moscow were to start a second round of talks in Turkey. A day after Kyiv said it launched a massive aerial attack on Moscow, 162 drones were intercepted by Russia overnight, the Russian health ministry said on Monday. The tensions escalated a day before both the sides were expected to sit for direct talks to de-escalate the conflict which has entered into its third year. 'Air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 162 Ukrainian drones" between 1710 GMT and 2300 GMT on Sunday, news agency AFP quoted the Russia's health ministry's statement. The Ukrainian and Russian delegations were to restart the talks in Turkey's capital city Istanbul. This would be the second round of direct talks between the two neighbouring nations since the weeks after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The statement mentioned that majority of the drones were brought down over regions bordering Ukraine, with 57 intercepted over the Kursk region and 31 over the Belgorod region. Earlier on Sunday, Kyiv said it carried out one of its most brazen and successful attacks on Russian soil, targetting dozens of strategic bombers parked at airbases deep inside Russia, thousands of kilometres behind the frontline. First Published:
Fibre2Fashion
38 minutes ago
- Fibre2Fashion
Economists see global growth coming under strain amid uncertainty: WEF
Uncertainty is the defining theme of the global economic environment, according to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) latest Chief Economists Outlook, which said 82 per cent consider it very high now, while 56 per cent anticipate easing over the next year. Ninety-seven per cent placed trade policy among the areas of highest uncertainty, followed by monetary policy (49 per cent) and fiscal policy (35 per cent). Uncertainty defines the global economic environment, the WEF's latest Chief Economists Outlook noted; 82 per cent see it as very high now. The growth outlook is divided, with weak prospects in North America, APAC resilience and cautious optimism in Europe. The most optimism about a strong economic expansion in South Asia, with India set to be the primary engine of growth this year and the next. Eighty-seven per cent anticipated that businesses will respond to uncertainty by delaying strategic decisions, increasing recession risks. The growth outlook is divided, with weak prospects in North America, resilience in the Asia-Pacific and cautious optimism in Europe. In Europe, while growth remains subdued, respondents pointed to emerging signs of improvement, driven by expansionary fiscal policy and continued monetary easing. The respondents were largely aligned in their assessment that higher tariffs and persistent trade tensions would fuel inflation and suppress trade volumes, and persistent uncertainty would inflict significant economic damage on the global economy, including through paralysed decision-making and heightened risks of policy mis-coordination, the report's executive summary said. Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to drive growth, but 47 per cent anticipate related net job losses. The economists were the most optimistic about a strong economic expansion in South Asia, with India set to be the primary engine of growth this year and the next. They, however, warned of the overall global growth coming under strain from trade policy shocks and AI disruption. Respondents were clear that overall growth prospects were weakening, with the shift in trajectory being most pronounced in the United States, where the majority of respondents expected weak or very weak growth for the remainder of 2025, alongside rising inflation and a weakening dollar. China is also pursuing fiscal expansion in an effort to bolster growth, but the chief economists were divided on whether it would reach its target of 5-per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year, given a range of both external and domestic economic challenges. A majority of surveyed economists saw the current US economic policy as having a lasting global impact, with 87 per cent expecting it to delay strategic business decisions and heighten recession risks. Although the rerouting of Chinese exports is casting a shadow over the South Asian region's economic prospects, a recently concluded trade deal between India and the United Kingdom was another source of optimism, the report said. Globally, public debt concerns were seen mounting as defence spending rises, with 86 per cent of chief economists expecting increased government borrowing. Seventy-nine per cent of respondents viewed the current geo-economic developments as signs of a significant structural shift for the global economy rather than a temporary disruption. Other key risks included rising concentration of market power (47 per cent) and disruption of existing business models (44 per cent). Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
UK to build more submarines, boost warhead spend in message to Moscow
By Tom Rees and Ellen Milligan UK intends to send a 'message to Moscow' with plans to expand its fleet of attack submarines and invest in its nuclear deterrent as part of a new defence strategy to head off the threat posed by Russia. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government will on Monday reveal plans to spend £15 billion ($20 billion) on its warhead programme and build up to 12 new submarines as part of the AUKUS programme it operates alongside the US and Australia, to bolster Britain's 'warfighting readiness,' the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday. Defense Secretary John Healey told the BBC that Monday's strategic defence review — which will spell out the threats facing Britain and outline recommendations to tackle them — will send a 'message to Moscow' by strengthening the UK's military and defense industry's capabilities. 'We know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression,' Healey said in a statement. 'With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad.' The UK will also build six new munitions factories to create an 'always on' industrial production, buy up to 7,000 long-range missiles and invest in its cybersecurity and stockpiles of support equipment. Healey told Sky News that new factories will be built 'very soon.' 'This is Britain standing behind, making our armed forces stronger but making our industrial base stronger, and this is part of our readiness to fight, if required,' he told the BBC separately on Sunday. However, he said a target to spend 3 per cent of gross domestic product on defence after the next election remains an 'ambition' and that he doesn't expect to make progress toward raising the number of soldiers in the British army until the next parliament. Opposition parties, including the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, said the government needs to reach the spending target sooner than 2034. Monday's review comes after a period of underinvestment in the country's defence industry that has seen the size of the UK army shrink to its smallest since the Napoleonic era. An end to the so-called 'peace dividend' will put more pressure on the country's stretched public finances, with Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves set to unveil departments' budget settlements at the multi-year spending review on June 11. Higher military spending comes at a time of multiple demands on the public purse, from healthcare to prisons. 'All of Labour's Strategic Defence Review promises will be taken with a pinch of salt unless they can show there will actually be enough money to pay for them,' the Conservative Party's Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said in a statement. The Sunday Times reported that the Labour government wants to buy American-made fighter jets capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons. The review will also recommend new defensive shields to protect the country from enemy missiles as well as reestablishing a civilian home guard, according to the report. The shift in Britain's war footing comes as US President Donald Trump presses Nato members to increase their military spending. Just weeks after Trump took office in January, Starmer announced a commitment to boost defense spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 from 2.3 per cent currently. Moscow launched one of its longest drone and missile attacks against Kyiv this weekend, while Ukrainian drones hit several strategic airfields in Russia, escalating tensions ahead of crucial talks in Istanbul on Monday aimed at securing a ceasefire in the years-long conflict.
