2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff: Difference between revisions
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The troop deployment to India's western border was expected to take three to four weeks, accordingly the military action involving a limited offensive against the terrorists' training camps in Pak administered Kashmir was planned by the Indian [[Cabinet Committee on Security]] for the second week of January 2002. It would start with air strike by IAF's Tiger Squadron to attack zones with large concentration of camps. Special forces of the Indian army would then launch a limited ground offensive to further neutralise the terrorist camps and help to occupy the dominant positions on the LoC. January 14, 2002 was decided as the tentative D-day.<ref name="IT_Twice"/> |
The troop deployment to India's western border was expected to take three to four weeks, accordingly the military action involving a limited offensive against the terrorists' training camps in Pak administered Kashmir was planned by the Indian [[Cabinet Committee on Security]] for the second week of January 2002. It would start with air strike by IAF's Tiger Squadron to attack zones with large concentration of camps. Special forces of the Indian army would then launch a limited ground offensive to further neutralise the terrorist camps and help to occupy the dominant positions on the LoC. January 14, 2002 was decided as the tentative D-day.<ref name="IT_Twice"/> |
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According to the Indian strategy a limited strike in the Pakistan administered Kashmir was preferred as it would convey the Indian resolve to Pakistan and yet keep the international retribution levels that are manageable. Indian actions would then be comparable to the, |
According to the Indian strategy a limited strike in the Pakistan administered Kashmir was preferred as it would convey the Indian resolve to Pakistan and yet keep the international retribution levels that are manageable. Indian actions would then be comparable to the, ongoing US offensive in Afghanistan against [[Osama bin Laden]]'s [[Al-Qaida]] terrorists.<ref name="IT_Twice"/> |
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The CCS had weighed in the possibility of Pakistan launching an all-out offensive as a response to the Indian strikes. The intelligence assessment suggested that the Pakistani Army was not well prepared. This further minimized the chances of Pakistan launching a full-scale war. The Indian plans were strengthened by a strong economy with low inflation, high petroleum and forex reserves. Finance minister [[Yashwant Sinha]] announced that the Indian economy was prepared for a war, in spite of being the final option. The limited strike served as a tactical option. The troop build-up signalled "India's seriousness" to the international community and the USA. If Pakistan's strategy |
The CCS had weighed in the possibility of Pakistan launching an all-out offensive as a response to the Indian strikes. The intelligence assessment suggested that the Pakistani Army was not well prepared. This further minimized the chances of Pakistan launching a full-scale war. The Indian plans were strengthened by a strong economy with low inflation, high petroleum and forex reserves. Finance minister [[Yashwant Sinha]] announced that the Indian economy was prepared for a war, in spite of being the final option. The limited strike served as a tactical option. The troop build-up signalled "India's seriousness" to the international community and the USA. If Pakistan's strategy did not change then India would have no other option.<ref name="IT_Twice"/> |
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India initiated its diplomatic offensive by recalling [[High Commission of India, Islamabad#Indian High Commissioner|Indian high commissioner]] and the civilian flights from Pakistan were banned.<ref name="IT_Twice"/> |
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Pakistan picked up the war signals and began mobilisation of its military and initiated diplomatic talks with the US President George W. Bush. [[American Secretary of State]] [[Colin Powell]] engaged with India and Pakistan to reduce tensions. In the first week of January, [[British Prime Minister]] [[Tony Blair]] visited India with a message that he was pressurising on Pakistani President Musharraf. USA declared LeT and JeM as [[United_States_State_Department_list_of_Foreign_Terrorist_Organizations#Groups_designated_as_FTOs|foreign terrorist groups]].<ref name="IT_Twice"/> |
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== Confrontations == |
== Confrontations == |
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Revision as of 20:06, 9 September 2018
| 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff Indian Codename: Operation Parakram | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts | |||||||
 The United Nations map of the LoC. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Kocheril Narayanan(President of India) Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Prime minister of India)  Gen S. Padmanabhan(Chief of Army Staff)  ACM S. Krishnaswamy(Chief of Air Staff)  Adm Madhvendra Singh(Chief of Naval Staff) |
 Gen Pervez Musharraf(President of Pakistan)  Gen. Aziz Khan(Chairman Joint Chiefs) Gen. Yusaf Khan(Chief of Army Staff)  ACM Mushaf Ali Mir(Chief of Air Staff)  Adm Abdul Aziz Mirza(Chief of Naval Staff) Adm S. Karimullah(Commander Marines) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 500,000–700,000 soldiers[1] | 300,000–400,000 soldiers[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 789–1,874 non-combat deaths[2][3] | unknown | ||||||
| 155,000 Indians and 45,000 Pakistanis displaced[4] | |||||||
The 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff was a military standoff between India and Pakistan that resulted in the massing of troops on either side of the border and along the Line of Control (LoC) in the region of Kashmir. This was the second major military standoff between India and Pakistan following the successful detonation of nuclear devices by both countries in 1998 and the most recent standoff between the nuclear rivals. The other had been the Kargil War in 1999.
The military buildup was initiated by India responding to a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001 (during which twelve people, including the five men who attacked the building, were killed) and the legislative Assembly on 1 October 2001.[5] India claimed that the attacks were carried out by two Pakistan-based terror groups fighting Indian administered Kashmir, the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, both of whom India has said are backed by Pakistan's ISI –[6] a charge that Pakistan denied.[7][8][9]
In the Western media, coverage of the standoff focused on the possibility of a nuclear war between the two countries and the implications of the potential conflict on the American-led "Global War on Terrorism" in nearby Afghanistan. Tensions de-escalated following international diplomatic mediation which resulted in the October 2002 withdrawal of Indian[10] and Pakistani troops[11] from the international border.
Prelude
On the morning of 13 December 2001, a cell of five armed men attacked the Indian Parliament by breaching the security cordon at Gate 12. The five men killed seven people before being shot dead by Indian Security Forces.
World leaders and leaders in nearby countries condemned the attack on the Parliament, including Pakistan. On 14 December, the ruling Indian National Democratic Alliance blamed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) for the attack. Home Minister L.K. Advani claimed, "we have received some clues about yesterday's incident, which shows that a neighboring country, and some terrorist organisations active there are behind it,"[12] in an indirect reference to Pakistan and Pakistan-based militant groups. The same day, in a demarche to Pakistan's High Commissioner to India, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, India demanded that Pakistan stop the activities of LeT and JeM, that Pakistan apprehend the organisation's leaders and that Pakistan curb the financial assets and the group's access to these assets.[13] In response to the Indian government's statements, Pakistan ordered its military on standing high alert the same day.
The Pakistan military's information sources, the ISPR's spokesman Major-General Rashid Qureshi, claimed that the Parliament attack was a "drama staged by Indian intelligence agencies to defame the freedom struggle in 'occupied Kashmir'" and further warned that India would pay "heavily if they engage in any misadventure".[14]
On 20 December, amid calls from the United States, Russia, and the United Nations to exercise restraint, India mobilised and deployed its troops to Kashmir and the Indian part of the Punjab in what was India's largest military mobilization since the 1971 conflict.[15] The Indian codename for the mobilization was Operation Parakram (Sanskrit: Valor).[16]
Planning
The troop deployment to India's western border was expected to take three to four weeks, accordingly the military action involving a limited offensive against the terrorists' training camps in Pak administered Kashmir was planned by the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security for the second week of January 2002. It would start with air strike by IAF's Tiger Squadron to attack zones with large concentration of camps. Special forces of the Indian army would then launch a limited ground offensive to further neutralise the terrorist camps and help to occupy the dominant positions on the LoC. January 14, 2002 was decided as the tentative D-day.[17]
According to the Indian strategy a limited strike in the Pakistan administered Kashmir was preferred as it would convey the Indian resolve to Pakistan and yet keep the international retribution levels that are manageable. Indian actions would then be comparable to the, ongoing US offensive in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida terrorists.[17]
The CCS had weighed in the possibility of Pakistan launching an all-out offensive as a response to the Indian strikes. The intelligence assessment suggested that the Pakistani Army was not well prepared. This further minimized the chances of Pakistan launching a full-scale war. The Indian plans were strengthened by a strong economy with low inflation, high petroleum and forex reserves. Finance minister Yashwant Sinha announced that the Indian economy was prepared for a war, in spite of being the final option. The limited strike served as a tactical option. The troop build-up signalled "India's seriousness" to the international community and the USA. If Pakistan's strategy did not change then India would have no other option.[17]
India initiated its diplomatic offensive by recalling Indian high commissioner and the civilian flights from Pakistan were banned.[17]
Pakistan picked up the war signals and began mobilisation of its military and initiated diplomatic talks with the US President George W. Bush. American Secretary of State Colin Powell engaged with India and Pakistan to reduce tensions. In the first week of January, British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited India with a message that he was pressurising on Pakistani President Musharraf. USA declared LeT and JeM as foreign terrorist groups.[17]
Confrontations
December–January
In late December, both countries moved ballistic missiles closer to each other's border, and mortar and artillery fire was reported in Kashmir.[18] By January 2002, India had mobilized around 500,000 troops and three armored divisions on the Pakistan's border concentrated along the Line of Control in Kashmir. Pakistan responded similarly, deploying around 300,000 troops to that region.[1]
On 12 January 2002, President Pervez Musharraf gave a speech intended to reduce tensions with India. He declared that Pakistan would combat extremism on its own soil, but said that Pakistan had a right to Kashmir.[19] The Indian Prime Minister told his generals that there would be no attack "for now."[20]
May–June
Tensions escalated significantly in May. On 14 May, three gunmen killed 34 people in an army camp near Jammu, most of them the wives and children of Indian soldiers serving in Kashmir. The Indian Army was angered by the attack.[20] On 18 May, India expelled the Pakistani High Commissioner. That same day, thousands of villagers had to flee Pakistani artillery fire in Jammu.[21] On 21 May, clashes killed six Pakistani soldiers and 1 Indian soldier, as well as civilians from both sides.[22] On 22 May, Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee warned his troops to prepare for a "decisive battle".[23] Beginning on 24 May and lasting for several days, Pakistan began conducting a series of missile tests. On 7 June the Pakistan Air Force shot down an Indian unmanned aerial vehicle near Lahore.[24]
At the same time, attempts to defuse the situation continued. Both Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf blamed each other for the standoff, and the Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to mediate a solution, but in vain.[25] Musharraf refused to back down giving many interviews on Indian and Pakistani media outlets that he was prepared for war if that was the way things needed to be.
July–August
Pakistani army troops stationed near the post in Kupwara sector's Kel area of the LOC had been shelling the Indian positions across the LOC. India suspected a troop build up situation near the border post that was similar to Kargil. Indian army planned a retaliation by sending troops to attack the Pakistani posts. After deliberations with the then Army Chief, General Sundararajan Padmanabhan, the plan was modified and instead of only a ground assault, the decision was made to first attack Pakistani positions using the IAF jets followed by a ground assault by the Indian Special Forces. At 1:30 pm on 2 August, IAF's No. 1 Tiger Squadron of Mirage 2000 H fighter aircraft loaded with laser guided weapons bombed the Pakistani bunkers located in the Kel. The attack destroyed the bunkers with an unknown number of casualty. Pakistani troops then opened heavy artillery fire on the Indian posts. The Indian Special forces then followed up to kill the remaining Pakistani soldiers.[26][17]
October
While tensions remained high throughout the next few months, both governments began easing the situation in Kashmir. By October 2002, India had begun to demobilize their troops along her border and later Pakistan did the same, and in November 2003 a cease-fire between the two nations was signed.[27]
Casualties
The standoff inflicted heavy casualties. The total Indian casualties were 789–1,874 killed. Many accidents during the mobilisation were due to the poor quality of mines and fuses[2][3] Around 100 of these fatalities were from mine laying operations. Artillery duels with Pakistan, vehicle accidents, and other incidents make up the rest.[2]
Cost of standoff
The Indian cost for the buildup was ₹216 billion (US$2.7 billion) while Pakistan's was $1.4 billion.[28]
Threat of nuclear war
President Musharraf refused to renounce the use of nuclear weapons even after pressure by the international community. Whereas Prime Minister Vajpayee asserted from the beginning that nuclear weapons would only be used if the other side used them first.
As both India and Pakistan are armed with nuclear weapons, the possibility a conventional war could escalate into a nuclear one was raised several times during the standoff. Various statements on this subject were made by Indian and Pakistani officials during the conflict, mainly concerning a no first use policy. Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said on 5 June that India would not use nuclear weapons first,[29] while Musharraf said on 5 June he would not renounce Pakistan's right to use nuclear weapons first.[30] According to one think tank of the Pakistan government, the possession of nuclear weapons by Pakistan prevented escalation to an all out war by India.[31] In 2009, Pakistani economist Sartaj Aziz held the opinion that India had to withdraw forces from the border "due to the risk of a nuclear retaliation by Pakistan.[32]
There was also concern that a 6 June 2002 asteroid explosion over Earth, known as the Eastern Mediterranean Event, could have caused a nuclear conflict had it exploded over India or Pakistan.[33]
Development of Cold Start
After the deescalation and the substantial diplomatic mediation, the Indian government, however, learned the seriousness of the military suspension by Pakistan in the region. Adjustments and development on offensive doctrine, Cold Start, was carried out by India as an aftermath of the war.[citation needed]
Published Account
Books
- Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy written by the former National Security Advisor of India, Shivshankar Menon. In his book Menon mentioned that the reason why India did not immediately attacked Pakistan was, after the examination of the options by the leadership of the government, it was concluded by the decision makers that, "more was to be gained from not attacking Pakistan than from attacking it".[34]
See also
- Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts
- 2002 Eastern Mediterranean event
- India-Pakistan relations
- Kaluchak Incident
- Cold Start
References
- ^ a b c Kashmir Crisis Global Security.org
- ^ a b c "Op Parakram claimed 798 soldiers". The imes Of India. 31 July 2003. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
- ^ a b India suffered 1,874 casualties without fighting a war, THE TIMES OF INDIA.
- ^ "The cost of conflict-II Beyond the direct cost of war". The News International.
- ^ Rajesh M. Basrur (14 December 2009). "The lessons of Kargil as learned by India". In Peter R. Lavoy (ed.). Asymmetric Warfare in South Asia: The Causes and Consequences of the Kargil Conflict (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-521-76721-7. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ "Who will strike first", The Economist, 20 December 2001.
- ^ Jamal Afridi (9 July 2009). "Kashmir Militant Extremists". Council Foreign Relations. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
Pakistan denies any ongoing collaboration between the ISI and militants, stressing a change of course after 11 September 2001.
- ^ Perlez, Jane (29 November 2008). "Pakistan Denies Any Role in Mumbai Attacks". Mumbai (India);Pakistan: NYTimes.com. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ "Attack on Indian parliament heightens danger of Indo-Pakistan war". Wsws.org. 20 December 2001. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ "India to withdraw troops from Pak border" Archived 30 November 2003 at the Wayback Machine, Times of India, 16 October 2002.
- ^ "Pakistan to withdraw front-line troops", BBC, 17 October 2002.
- ^ "Parliament attack: Advani points towards neighbouring country", Rediff, 14 December 2001.
- ^ "Govt blames LeT for Parliament attack, asks Pak to restrain terrorist outfits", Rediff, 14 December 2001.
- ^ "Pakistan forces put on high alert: Storming of parliament", Dawn (newspaper), 15 December 2001.
- ^ "Musharraf vows to stop terror activity in Pakistan". USA Today. 22 June 2002. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Gen. Padmanabhan mulls over lessons of Operation Parakram". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 6 February 2004. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f "Twice in 2002, India was on the verge of striking against Pakistan. Here's why it didn't". Cover Story. India Today. 23 December 2002. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ^ Pakistan, India 'move missiles' to border Archived 6 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine CNN, 26 December 2001.
- ^ Musharraf declares war on extremism, BBC, 12 January 2002.
- ^ a b "The Stand-off", The New Yorker, 13 February 2006.
- ^ "India expels Pakistan's ambassador", CBC.ca, 18 May 2002.
- ^ "Six more Pak soldiers killed", The Tribune, 21 May 2002.
- ^ "Indian PM calls for 'decisive battle' over Kashmir", The Guardian, Wednesday 22 May 2002. Retrieved on 7 February 2013.
- ^ "IAF's Searcher-II Loss on June 07, 2002". Vayu-sena-aux.tripod.com. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ "Putin Attempts to Mediate India-Pakistan Tensions", VOA, 3 June 2002. Retrieved on 7 February 2013.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: In 2002, India's Fighter Jets Hit Pakistan In A Surgical Strike You've Never Been Told About". Huffington Post. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ^ "India-Pakistan Ceasefire Agreement", NDTV. Retrieved on 7 February 2013.
- ^ Aditi Phadnis (16 January 2003). "Parakram cost put at Rs 6,500 crore". Rediff.com India Limited. Archived from the original on 3 February 2003. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "India will not use nuclear weapons first: Singh". BNET. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 20 March 2012.[dead link]
- ^ Irish Examiner – 2002/06/05: "Musharraf refuses to renounce first use of nuclear weapons" Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Irish Examiner, 5 June 2002
- ^ "IPRI :: Islamabad Policy Research Institute". Ipripak.org. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)[unreliable source?] - ^ Aziz, Sartaj (2009). Between Dreams and Realities: Some Milestones in Pakistan’s History. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. p. 408. ISBN 978-0-19-547718-4. Archived from the original on 19 September 2013.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Near-Earth Objects Pose Threat, General Says". Spacedaily.com. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ Menon, Shivshankar (2016). Choices: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy (Excerpt from The Hindu ed.). Penguin Random House India. ISBN 978-0670089239. Retrieved 8 September 2018.