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Straits Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
India, Pakistan exchange tit-for-tat attacks, sparking fears of escalation
- India and Pakistan are teetering on the edge of open conflict, after the Indian military struck deep within Pakistan in the early hours of May 7 in retaliation for a terrorist attack that killed 26 civilians in India-administered Kashmir last month. In the most expansive action ever taken on its neighbour , India rained air strikes on what military officials sa id were 'terror camps' in territory as far away as 30 km from the de facto border. Pakistan called this 'an act of war' saying that the 26 people who died included civilians; and vowed to respond 'at a time, place and manner' of its choosing. Meanwhile, cross border shelling along the Line of Control, the defacto border, on May 7 killed around 15 in India, said media reports here. With the nuclear-armed neighbours now engaged in a tit-for-tat spiral, officials and analysts on both sides are also in a race to shape the narrative for what comes next. Those in India say that the ball is now in Pakistan's court and that whether the clash escalates is up to Islamabad; those in Pakistan say that New Delhi's actions leave Pakistan with little choice but to strike back with full force. 'I do see a limited conflict looming because India has hit Pakistan in multiple places,' said Dr Qamar Cheema, executive director of Sanober Institute , an Islamabad-based think tank. 'India has attacked Pakistan's m ainland. Pakistan would strike back with full force.' Professor Harsh V. Pant, vice-president for studies and foreign policy at the New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, said meanwhile that India does not wish the situation to escalate further. 'Ultimately this is a question for Pakistan – whether they want to climb the escalation ladder,' he said. India's operation comes two weeks after gunmen killed 26 people – 25 Indians and one Nepali – in Pahalgam, a tourist hub in Kashmir. New Delhi pointed the finger at Islamabad, which it accuses of harbouring terrorists . India's foreign secretary, Mr Vikram Misri, said that its counter-actions in striking terror camps in Pakistan including those of Pakistan-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba 'were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible'. The Indian government has called its missile attack Operation Sindoor, referring to the red vermillion powder married Hindu women wear in their hair parting. It brought symbolism to a mission meant to avenge the trauma of 25 women who watched their husbands shot by militants in Pahalgam. At the press briefing on the operation on May 7, Mr Misri was flanked by two women officers, which was greeted with approval by the public . Many Indian celebrities and social media users called the sight of two women officers inspiring, with political analyst Saba Naqvi saying it was 'good optics'. But Pakistan, which denies being involved in the April 22 attack and has called for a neutral investigation, struck back at India's assertion that no civilians were hurt in its May 7 strikes. It said that 26 civilians including a three-year-old girl died, and released disturbing photos of civilians allegedly killed and injured. The estimates of civilian deaths across Pakistan's media have ranged from 10 to 26. Pakistan's military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the girl was killed in a mosque in Punjab province. The image of a child in white clothes being treated by gloved doctors in a hospital has been shared widely. Pakistan said as well that it shot down five India jets on May 7. There was no response from India on the downing of the jets. The clash has evoked nationalist fervour in both countries, with many closing ranks with their respective governments. In India, where many had sought strong action against Pakistan, schools in many parts of the country were shut early as the home ministry asked states to conduct mock civil drills to test evacuation plans. The mood was also grim in Pakistan , with many expressing anger and outrage for the death of civilians in the air strikes, as well as alarm over India's threat to halt the water supply that flows from the Indus River into Pakistan. The two countries fought two wars over Kashmir – claimed in its entirety by both – in 1947-1948 and 1965, and a limited conflict in 1999. There have also been more recent cross-border strikes. In 2016, Indian Army commandos crossed into Pakistani territory and struck terrorist launch pads in the wake of an attack that had killed 17 Indian soldiers in an army outpost near the Line of Control. And in 2019, India launched air strikes against what it said was a terror training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in retaliation for a suicide bombing in which 40 Indian soldiers were killed in Kashmir. On both occasions, the two sides stepped back from the brink of conflict. Professor C. Raja Mohan, a visiting research professor at the NUS Institute of South Asian Studies, said any further escalation in current hostilities will also depend on international pressure. Calls for restraint have come in from different parts of the world. The United Nations Security Council urged India and Pakistan to avoid military conflict and ease tensions. China also called on both countries to show restraint, on May 7. A Chinese spokesperson said both countries needed to prioritise peace and stability. US President Donald Trump said the rising tensions were a 'shame' and sought a quick resolution, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to the national security advisors in both countries. 'The Indian foreign secretary said if Pakistan escalates, India will respond even more vigorously. Now this is where what the rest of the world does comes in. Do they step in and stop Pakistan from retaliating or do they step in after Pakistan has retaliated?' asked Prof Raja Mohan. 'Trump has said that he hopes this will come to an end quickly. If it is a moderate response (from Pakistan), attempts will be made to stop it here.' Nirmala Ganapathy is India bureau chief at The Straits Times. She is based in New Delhi and writes about India's foreign policy and politics. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
India raises defense budget by nearly 10%, pushes local manufacturing
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — India's Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced a 9.53% rise in its 2025-2026 defense budget as the country grapples with multiple security challenges, headlined by Pakistan on its western border and tensions with China to the north. India's MoD is set to receive a record 6.81 trillion rupees, equating to US$78.3 billion. However, only 1.8 trillion rupees – or 26.4% of the budget – will be allocated to new acquisitions. That is because pensions account for 23.6% of the budget, while the armed forces receive 45.8% and 4.2% goes to other defense organizations. 'The primary structural problem of salaries and pensions squeezing fiscal space for capital acquisition remains,' analysts Harsh V. Pant and Kartik Bommakanti, of the Indian-based Observer Research Foundation, wrote in a report. The MoD described 2025-2026 as a period of reforms. 'In the current geopolitical scenario where the world is witnessing a changing paradigm of modern warfare, the Indian Armed Forces need to be equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and have to be transformed into a technologically advanced combat-ready force,' reads a statement. Although Delhi says modernization is a priority, funding for capital acquisitions has grown just 4.65% compared to last year. Upcoming big-ticket items include MQ-9B drones, carrier-borne fighters and next-generation submarines and warships. The government continues to push the objective of self-reliance in defense production. Indeed, 1.12 trillion rupees is devoted to procurements from domestic industry, representing 75% of the overall modernization budget. To encourage greater private-sector participation, the MoD noted 25% of this domestic share is 'earmarked for acquisition from domestic private industries'. Elsewhere, there is a 12.4% hike on defense research and development, reaching 268 billion rupees. The MoD noted, 'This will financially strengthen the Defence Research and Development Organisation in developing new technologies' via research and building private-public partnerships. Pant and Bommakanti remarked that 'the pattern of allocation on armaments sends a clear signal that the domestic industrial complex is prioritized and will be encouraged.' However, Antoine Levesques, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Defense News that India faces a key challenge 'in balancing the urgent requirements of its defense procurement through foreign purchases, versus fulfilling its longer-term goal of upscaling and upskilling its indigenous defense industrial ecosystem.' India's 'Atmanirbharta' (self-reliance) defense policy is bearing fruit, according to official data. By FY2023-2024, domestic defense production had increased to 1.27 trillion rupees, up 174% compared to a decade earlier. This year, Delhi expects domestic production to reach 1.75 trillion, and even 3 trillion by 2029. Simultaneously, Indian defense exports surged to 19.4 billion rupees in FY2023-2024, up 32.5% from a year earlier. The three top export destinations were the United States, France and Armenia. According to the MoD statement, the defense-export goal by 2029 is 500 billion rupees.
