Pakistan's flourishing IT talent going global
Pakistan's tech talent development is paying off. With some 75,000 IT-related graduates being produced every year, the country is fast emerging as a technology powerhouse.
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Japan Times
27-05-2025
- Japan Times
Lessons from India-Pakistan war: Were China's arms overrated?
The brief military conflict between India and Pakistan from May 7 to May 10 marked a turning point in South Asian security dynamics. This was not a conventional border conflict, but a high-tech showdown featuring drones, cruise and ballistic missiles and long-range air defenses. While India and Pakistan were the primary belligerents, a third power — China — played a pivotal, if indirect, role. Beijing's involvement via the supply of advanced weapon systems and real-time satellite reconnaissance data to Pakistan turned the engagement into a revealing trial run for Chinese arms in a live combat setting. This conflict offered the first real-world glimpse into how China's premier military technologies perform under fire. The implications extend far beyond South Asia — to Taiwan, the East and South China Seas and global arms markets. The operational lessons drawn from this brief war matter not just for India and Pakistan, but for military planners from Tokyo to Washington. Scrutinizing Chinese systems Pakistan relied heavily on Chinese military hardware. Most notably, it deployed the J-10C 'Vigorous Dragon' fighter jets armed with PL-15E air-to-air missiles and HQ-9 long-range surface-to-air missile systems with a 200-kilometer engagement envelope. These platforms were tested in actual combat for the first time. Chinese satellite reconnaissance reportedly supported Pakistani targeting, with Beijing even re-tasking satellites to enhance coverage over Indian military zones. Yet despite the apparent sophistication of Pakistan's imported arsenal, the results were far from decisive. The J-10Cs launched multiple PL-15E missiles at Indian targets, but there is no independent verification of successful hits. India's integrated air defenses withstood the onslaught, gaining air superiority. Indeed, by the conflict's end, Indian airstrikes had crippled major Pakistani air bases — including Nur Khan and Bholari — without suffering any confirmed retaliatory damage. Nur Khan, near Pakistan's nuclear command and army headquarters, was particularly symbolic. Its targeting by Indian cruise missiles signaled a calibrated message: Even high-value, well-defended assets are not beyond reach. Disproportionate impact While both sides employed drones and missiles, the quality of strikes proved more decisive than the quantity. Pakistan reportedly launched 300 to 400 drones in a single night, yet satellite imagery showed little damage on Indian soil. India, by contrast, relied on precision standoff weapons — especially the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, codeveloped with Russia — which successfully hit high-value targets in Pakistan with minimal risk to Indian military personnel. The BrahMos missile, already exported by India, emerged as the standout performer of the conflict. It demonstrated both survivability and pinpoint accuracy in a contested airspace, validating India's investment in standoff precision platforms. These are designed to destroy critical infrastructure without needing to cross the enemy's border. India's shift toward such systems reflects a broader strategic change: moving from reactive defense to a more assertive doctrine that punishes Pakistan's transborder terrorism with calibrated strikes. This could have far-reaching implications for deterrence on the Indian subcontinent. Global strategic significance There are three major reasons why this short conflict merits serious international attention. First, it offers a preview of what a future Chinese military operation might look like. Beijing has made no secret of its ambitions toward Taiwan and any effort to seize or blockade the self-governing island would likely rely on systems similar to those used by Pakistan. That makes the observed performance of the J-10C, PL-15E and HQ-9 systems particularly relevant to U.S. and allied military planners. Second, in the South China Sea, China has grown increasingly aggressive, harassing Philippine and Vietnamese vessels with ramming, water cannons and even bladed weapons. If China were to escalate in this region, the same air and missile systems could come into play. The India-Pakistan conflict thus provides critical insight into their combat performance and vulnerabilities. Third, in the Himalayas, India and China remain locked in a military standoff that was triggered in 2020 by Chinese encroachments on Indian borderlands. Despite diplomatic moves to ease tensions, both countries continue to mass troops and weaponry along their disputed frontier. The combat data generated from the conflict with Pakistan offers India an invaluable edge in anticipating Chinese capabilities and countermeasures. Propaganda vs. reality Predictably, the information war ran parallel to the actual conflict. Pakistan claimed to have shot down at least five Indian fighter jets on the first day. However, no wreckage has been presented and satellite imagery has not corroborated the claim. The Indian military dismissed the allegation, stating that all its pilots returned safely. On the Indian side, Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai stated that some Pakistani aircraft were downed over Pakistan's own territory. This claim, while more plausible given the precision of India's strikes, similarly lacks independent verification. What is evident, however, is the absence of traditional dogfights between rival warplanes. All air combat appears to have occurred beyond visual range, with neither side's fighter jets crossing international borders. This reflects the international evolution in the nature of air warfare, emphasizing sensors, missiles and electronic warfare over maneuverability and pilot skill. Electronic warfare and drones Both sides deployed drones extensively, but with varying degrees of effectiveness. India primarily used small drones for ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), whereas Pakistan fielded swarms of drones for both reconnaissance and attack. However, Pakistan's boast of neutralizing 85% of Indian drones seems overstated. Conversely, India's robust electronic warfare systems, along with its multilayered air defenses, effectively intercepted or deflected most Pakistani projectiles, including a ballistic missile aimed at New Delhi. Interestingly, China's CM-401 missile — a hypersonic anti-ship missile launched in this conflict from upgraded JF-17 jets — was reportedly used by Pakistan against land targets. Yet there was no visible or confirmed impact, raising questions about the missile's versatility outside its intended maritime role. The geopolitical signaling The tide of battle turned decisively after the explosions from the May 10 Indian strike on Nur Khan airbase triggered American alarm, especially given that Pakistani nuclear assets are located near this airbase. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio intervened, urging Pakistan's military leadership to de-escalate. Within hours, Pakistan's director-general of military operations contacted his Indian counterpart to propose an immediate ceasefire, which India accepted. This sequence underscores two points. First, Indian strikes achieved their objective of imposing costs without triggering an all-out war. Second, India effectively pierced the perceived immunity conferred by Pakistan's nuclear deterrent — an umbrella under which Pakistan has long sponsored cross-border terrorism with relative impunity. Final takeaways For China, the conflict served as a valuable though sobering test of its exported weaponry. While some systems functioned adequately, others like the HQ-9 air defense system showed critical vulnerabilities when deployed without integrated support. Beijing will likely revise and upgrade these platforms based on the feedback from its client-state. For India, the conflict validated its investment in precision strike capabilities and highlighted the importance of indigenous platforms like the BrahMos. It also signaled a new doctrinal posture — proactive, punitive and technologically assertive. For the world, this short conflict provided a rare, real-world laboratory to observe how modern missile and drone warfare unfolds between technologically matched rivals. In an era of strategic ambiguity and hybrid threats, those lessons are not just instructive; they are indispensable. Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist and the author of nine books, including 'Water: Asia's New Battleground.'
Japan Times
27-05-2025
- Japan Times
India and Pakistan's drone battles mark new arms race in Asia
A little after 8 p.m. on May 8, red flares streaked through the night sky over the northern Indian city of Jammu as its air-defense systems opened fire on drones from neighboring Pakistan. The Indian and Pakistani militaries have deployed high-end fighter jets, conventional missiles and artillery during decades of clashes, but the four days of fighting in May marked the first time New Delhi and Islamabad utilized unmanned aerial vehicles at scale against each other. The fighting halted after the U.S. announced it brokered a ceasefire but the South Asian powers, which spent more than $96 billion on defense last year, are now locked in a drones arms race, according to interviews with 15 people, including security officials, industry executives and analysts in the two countries. Two of them said they expect increased use of UAVs by the nuclear-armed neighbors because small-scale drone attacks can strike targets without risking personnel or provoking uncontrollable escalation. India plans to invest heavily in local industry and could spend as much as $470 million on UAVs over the next 12 to 24 months, roughly three times pre-conflict levels, said Smit Shah of Drone Federation India, which represents over 550 companies and regularly interacts with the government. The previously unreported forecast, which came as India this month approved roughly $4.6 billion in emergency military procurement funds, was corroborated by two other industry executives. The Indian military plans to use some of that additional funding on combat and surveillance drones, according to two Indian officials familiar with the matter. A drone is displayed at the stall of Pakistan Ordnance Factories, during the International Defense Exhibition and Seminar in Karachi in November. | REUTERS Defense procurement in India tends to involve years of bureaucratic processes but officials are now calling drone makers in for trials and demonstrations at an unprecedented pace, said Vishal Saxena, a vice president at Indian UAV firm ideaForge Technology. The Pakistan Air Force, meanwhile, is pushing to acquire more UAVs as it seeks to avoid risking its high-end aircraft, said a Pakistani source familiar with the matter. Pakistan and India both deployed cutting-edge generation 4.5 fighter jets during the latest clashes but cash-strapped Islamabad only has about 20 high-end Chinese-made J-10 fighters compared to the three dozen Rafales that New Delhi can muster. Pakistan is likely to build on existing relationships to intensify collaboration with China and Turkey to advance domestic drone research and production capabilities, said Oishee Majumdar of defense intelligence firm Janes. Islamabad is relying on a collaboration between Pakistan's National Aerospace Science and Technology Park and Turkish defense contractor Baykar that locally assembles the YIHA-III drone, the Pakistani source said, adding a unit could be produced domestically in between two to three days. Pakistan's military declined to respond to reporters questions. The Indian Defense Ministry and Baykar did not return requests for comment. India and Pakistan "appear to view drone strikes as a way to apply military pressure without immediately provoking large-scale escalation," said King's College London political scientist Walter Ladwig III. Visitors look at drones on display during the International Defense Exhibition and Seminar in Karachi in November. | REUTERS "UAVs allow leaders to demonstrate resolve, achieve visible effects, and manage domestic expectations — all without exposing expensive aircraft or pilots to danger," he added. But such skirmishes are not entirely risk-free, and Ladwig noted that countries could also send UAVs to attack contested or densely populated areas where they might not previously have used manned platforms. Drone swarms and vintage guns The fighting in May, which was the fiercest this century between the neighbors, came after an April 22 militant attack in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly Indian tourists. Delhi blamed the killings on "terrorists" backed by Islamabad, which denied the charge. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed revenge and New Delhi on May 7 launched airstrikes on what it described as "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan. The next night, Pakistan sent hordes of drones along a 1,700-kilometer (772-mile) front with India, with between 300 and 400 of them pushing in along 36 locations to probe Indian air defenses, Indian officials have said. Pakistan depended on Turkish-origin YIHA-III and Asisguard Songar drones, as well as the Shahpar-II UAV produced domestically by the state-owned Global Industrial & Defence Solutions conglomerate, according to two Pakistani sources. But much of this drone deployment was cut down by Cold War-era Indian anti-aircraft guns that were rigged to modern military radar and communication networks developed by state-run Bharat Electronics, according to two Indian officials. Representatives wait for visitors as drones are displayed during the International Defense Exhibition and Seminar in Karachi in November. | REUTERS A Pakistan source denied that large numbers of its drones were shot down on May 8, but India did not appear to sustain significant damage from that drone raid. India's use of the anti-aircraft guns, which had not been designed for anti-drone-warfare, turned out to be surprisingly effective, said retired Indian Brig. Anshuman Narang, now an UAV expert at New Delhi's Centre for Joint Warfare Studies. "Ten times better than what I'd expected," he said. India also sent Israeli HAROP, Polish WARMATE and domestically-produced UAVs into Pakistani airspace, according to one Indian and two Pakistan sources. Some of them were also used for precision attacks on what two Indian officials described as military and militant infrastructure. The two Pakistani security sources confirmed that India deployed a large number of the HAROPs — a long-range loitering munition drone manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries. Such UAVs, also known as suicide drones, stay over a target before crashing down and detonating on impact. Pakistan set up decoy radars in some areas to draw in the HAROPs, or waited for their flight time to come toward its end, so that they fell below 3,000 feet (915 meters) and could be shot down, a third Pakistani source said. Both sides claim to have notched victories in their use of UAVs. India successfully targeted infrastructure within Pakistan with minimal risk to personnel or major platforms, said KCL's Ladwig. For Pakistan's military, which claimed to have struck Indian defense facilities with UAVs, drone attacks allow it to signal action while drawing less international scrutiny than conventional methods, he noted. Cheap but with an Achilles' heel Despite the loss of many drones, both sides are doubling down. "We're talking about relatively cheap technology," said Washington-based South Asia expert Michael Kugelman. "And while UAVs don't have the shock and awe effect of missiles and fighter jets, they can still convey a sense of power and purpose for those that launch them." Indian defense planners are likely to expand domestic development of loitering munitions UAVs, according to an Indian security source and Sameer Joshi of Indian UAV maker NewSpace, which is deepening its research and development on such drones. "Their ability to loiter, evade detection, and strike with precision marked a shift toward high-value, low-cost warfare with mass produced drones," said Joshi, whose firm supplies the Indian military. And firms like ideaForge, which has supplied over 2,000 UAVs to the Indian security forces, are also investing on enhancing the ability of its drones to be less vulnerable to electronic warfare, said Saxena. A member of Pakistan armed forces takes a selfie at the International Defense Exhibition and Seminar in Karachi in November. | REUTERS Another vulnerability that is harder to address is the Indian drone program's reliance on hard-to-replace components from China, an established military partner of Pakistan, four Indian drone makers and officials said. India continues to depend on China-made magnets and lithium for UAV batteries, said Drone Federation India's Shah. "Weaponization of the supply chain is also an issue," said ideaForge's Saxena on the possibility of Beijing shutting the tap on components in certain situations. For instance, Chinese restrictions on the sale of drones and components to Ukraine have weakened Kyiv's ability to produce critical combat drones, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said in response to questions that Beijing has always implemented export controls on dual-use items in accordance with domestic laws and regulations as well as its international obligations. "Diversification of supply chain is a medium- to long-term problem," said Shah. "You can't solve it in short term."
NHK
21-05-2025
- NHK
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to be expanded to Afghanistan
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and his counterparts from Pakistan and the Taliban interim government in Afghanistan have agreed to extend the Chinese infrastructure network project currently under construction in Pakistan to Afghanistan. Wang held talks with Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar and acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi from the Taliban government in Beijing on Wednesday. The Chinese foreign ministry says the three have agreed to expand the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, to Afghanistan. Ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan remain strained over anti-terror measures and other issues. But the two sides have agreed in principle to exchange ambassadors as soon as possible. The Taliban foreign ministry issued a statement, quoting Muttaqi, expressing willingness to deepen political and economic relations with China and Pakistan in the future. No country has yet to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan since they regained control in 2021. But China is seeking stronger ties with the group and sent an ambassador to Afghanistan in 2023. It appears China is set to include Afghanistan in its Belt and Road Initiative and make its presence felt more strongly in the region.
