It is something we can rejoice but there has to be a cautious line too as the neighbour's destruction even from a middle-class sentiment often can bring bigger disaster.
India's Operation Sindoor has left them bleeding and economically red. Two Indian states Tamil Nadu and Mahasrashtra have higher State Domestic Product than Pakistan.
Three other states Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka will get ahead of Pakistan by the end of December 2025 or March 2026.
So we know where they stand as a nation. The biggest challenge for Pakistan army to garner resources and diverted from other heads of governance budget is certain critical.
"It is important to expose this," says India's Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh adding such military flip flop and economic misgovernance have put Pakistan behind Bangladesh in economic term.
Answering questions at an event, he said, "Deterrent works for Pakistan only for a time... after that they go for further provocation. I won't rule out anything".
The defence secretary was asked about the sequence of events during the recent four-day military confrontation between India and Pakistan that was eventually halted after the two sides arrived at an understanding on May 10, leading to a cessation of hostilities.
He said the Pakistani army came forward for tele talks with Indian DGMO on May 9th, “asking for a call from the DGMO, which they had earlier refused even to take”.
“And it was clear at that stage that they were in the process of capitulating essentially. And this was in the morning of May 9. So even before the announcement was made (on May 10), we all knew that this was going to happen. And this is what happened. The DGMO spoke and they essentially asked for a ceasefire,” he added.
The defence secretary was speaking at a session hosted at the “CNN News 18 Town Hall: The Defence Edition”.
Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 6-7 night in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam massacre of Hindu tourists.
India in effect conducted precision strikes on several terror-infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The Pakistani military had targeted Indian military installations and civilian areas.
Indian counter-offensives damaged key air bases of Pakistan including the Noor Khan and Rahim Yar Khan.
To a question, he said, "It is true they (Pakistan army) has captured the state apparatus and captured the state's resources as well".
In fact, Pakistan army chief Munir is chairman of an investment facilitation cell in Pakistan and thereby he decides on the economic matters too.
"It is a very different kind of a state (nation)," Singh said in reference to Pakistan adding "obviously they are able to divert resources from their economy....If my memory is correct they have gone through 24 IMF bailout packages and their GDP is about one-tenth of ours".
Bhaswati Mukherjee
(a former diplomat) writes in 'Indian Express'
Until 26/11, under the UPA, India faced at least seven major terror attacks: Delhi (October 2005 and September 2008), Mumbai (July 2006), Samjhauta Express (February 2007), Hyderabad (August 2007), Jaipur (May 2008), and Ahmedabad (July 2008).
These were linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and ISI-backed groups, striking at the heart of our cities. More than 2,000 citizens were killed between 2005 and 2008 due to cross-border terrorism.
The 26/11 attacks shattered India’s image as a secure nation. The response — widely documented — was incoherent. The then cabinet secretary, in his book, cited a fragmented security apparatus that failed to respond coherently. The then foreign secretary and later national security adviser concluded after “sober reflection” that “more was to be gained from not attacking Pakistan than from attacking it”.
Yet, it is hard to see what was gained, or to credibly argue that any favourable developments were contingent on it.
To those on the outside, India appeared to be a soft state. Let us also not forget that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s foolhardy joint statement with then Pakistan prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani at Sharm el-Sheikh in 2009 effectively shifted the Balochistan issue from a problem of Pakistan’s own making to one allegedly fuelled by India in international eyes. It was against this litany of missteps that the minister underscored the Modi government’s contrasting approach.
PM Modi came to office in 2014 with a vision of integrating South Asia into a cooperative space where trade was enhanced and regional problems were resolved collectively.
This aligned with the “Neighbourhood First” policy introduced by the UPA in 2008, demonstrating foreign policy continuity — a notable tradition in Indian statecraft. The aim was peace through reduced cross-border terror.
The attempts to build ties with Pakistan stemmed from this logic. However, the Pathankot attack in January 2016 was the final straw, hardening the PM’s stance on Pakistan. (It is also worth noting that the attack was planned before Modi’s surprise trip to Pakistan — thus undermining the ironic significance that Katju wishes to confer on the trip.)
Since then, PM Modi’s shift from conciliation to decisive action has been clear. The scale and publicity of the 2016 surgical strikes, the 2019 Balakot airstrike after Pulwama, and now the simultaneous destruction of terror targets deep inside Pakistan after Pahalgam all underline this transformation.
Each action was measured, non-escalatory, and focused on terrorist infrastructure, while signalling growing costs to Pakistan’s establishment. India has evolved from a nation fearful of unattended bags in public places to one where susceptible youth think twice before aligning with extremist outfits.
ends
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