6th Anniversary of Operation Swift Retort and Pakistan’s Quid Pro Quo Plus Strategy

by Qurat Ul Ain Shabbir

Six years have passed since India’s belligerent policies aimed to establish a “new normal” in its relations with Pakistan.

As in the movie, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter makes an offer to Clarice Starling: “Quid pro quo. I tell you things, you tell me things.” Along the same lines, India also tried to tell something on 26th February, 2019, when it carried out airstrikes in Balakot, Pakistan, located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province as a retaliatory measure against the Pulwama attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir (IIOJK), that resulted in the killing of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. Through this, India attempted to tell that it would continue to pursue its hegemonic ambitions alongside having entrenched domestic motives by falsely accusing Pakistan of orchestrating the Pulwama attack. It also told the world that Kashmir’s indigenous armed struggle and freedom movement is rather artificial and externally sponsored, something that it has always portrayed. New Delhi also tried to insinuate that it would continue to turn a blind eye to the predicament and grievances of Kashmiris while feigning a shock to the incidents like Pulwama. Such opportunities are also used as a pretext for exhibiting  Kashmir as a region perpetually threatened by terrorism, consequently, justifying India’s extensive military presence in the region under the pretense of maintaining peace. However, one of the main objectives also remains suppression of the Kashmiris, through a huge deployed of troops, to deprive them of their fundamental right to self determination and to break their will so that their ability to stand against Indian oppression is crippled.

On the other side, Pakistan had its own message to tell, which was not only limited to India but its scope encompassed the entire world. It apprised the world that it must take the responsibility for maintaining the crucial balance of power in the region by spurning Indian designs of regional hegemony that New Delhi wishes to accomplish through instigating instability. Simultaneously, the world also learned that India’s irrational and belligerent domestic and foreign policies would have catastrophic consequences—not just for regional stability but for global peace. This behavior by India has placed the unduly onus on Pakistan to ensure that South Asia’s strategic stability is not derailed, despite India’s continuous attempts to destabilize the region.

As on the 14th February 2019, the Pulwama attack happened, in which a suicide bomber, Adil Ahmad Dar, targeted a convoy of India’s Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu & Kashmir. Dar was a young Kashmiri boy, who became deeply resentful of Indian authorities after being humiliated and injured during the 2016 Kashmiri protests. Even before the initiation of any formal investigation, Indian quickly resorted to aspersions against Pakistan by blaming it for the attack coupled with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joining the mantra by flauntingly threatening Pakistan to get a “fitting response” and declaring that “This is an India of new convention and policy.

During the Balakot airstrikes conducted by the Indian Air Force, India promptly claimed that it had eliminated 300 alleged militants. However, this claim was soon discredited, as eyewitness testimonies and reports from international media indicated that no significant targets had been struck, nor had any casualties been recorded.

 

An intriguing perspective is that these events unfolded in the lead-up to the Indian General Elections. As Prime Minister Modi’s primary political appeal in India appears to rely on fueling anti-Pakistan sentiment. In this context, the Balakot episode was strategically orchestrated to cheer up his electorate that he was determined in his stance against Pakistan. The narrative played an important role in his electoral success that year. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attemoted to convey to the Indian public that, unlike its predecessors, it would not be deterred by Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities.

Pakistan’s response was akin to what General Kidwai termed as “Quid Pro Quo Plus.” The evolution of Pakistan’s strategy from ‘minimum credible deterrence’ to full-spectrum deterrence underscores its commitment to deterring all forms of Indian aggression. Pakistan would not only match Indian military reprisals but also stay one step ahead.This strategy effectively integrates Pakistan’s nuclear and conventional capabilities.

On February 27th, Pakistan not only targeted open areas near Indian military installations as a warning but also successfully shot down a MiG-21, capturing its pilot, Abhinandan. By terming it ‘Operation Swift Retort’,  the message was unequivocal: Pakistan would not only respond to Indian military actions in kind but would also maintain a strategic advantage. By doing so, Pakistan sought to restore deterrence and safeguard strategic stability from potential erosion.

Despite Pakistan’s upper hand in the Balakot crisis and its rational decision-making during Operation Swift Retort, warmongers in India welcomed the dangerous implications of their so-called “new normal.” Indian analysts and media commentators hailed the Balakot strike as a paradigm shift in India-Pakistan relations. However, in reality, this crisis provided India with some critical reality checks including that any future crisis of this nature could escalate into a more violent and dangerous conflict, potentially becoming a nuclear flashpoint. Also, that such escalations necessitate Indian engagement with Pakistan on the Kashmir conflict in a meaningful way—otherwise, any similar misadventure could bring both nations to the brink of nuclear war.

In retrospect, February 2019 belonged to Pakistan. However, it also showed that the region possesses precarious security dynamics and the necessity of strategic prudence and that any miscalculation in South Asia could have dire consequences. Most importantly, it reinforced the fact that Kashmir remains a major bone of contention between two nuclear-armed neighbors. Allowing time to tick away without resolution should not be the policy, as the persistent deadlock over this issue has made it one of the most intractable conflicts in the world. Rhetorical speeches and nationalist slogans from the Indian Prime Minister and his cabinet members will do no good for anyone. These tactics may help augment electoral prospects, but they will not be able to dampen the will of Kashmiri to emancipate themselves from the savage Indian occupation.

 

The author Qurat-Ul-Ain Shabbir is a research officer at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS) AJK. Currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D. degree in DSS from Quaid-i-Azam University. Her areas of interest include comprehensive security and conflict analysis. She can be approached at: annieshabbir341@yahoo.com      

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this article/Opinion/Comment are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk (DND). Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk News Agency.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

Stay Connected

Follow and subscribe

Contact CISS AJK

Center for International Strategic Studies AJK, King Abdullah Campus Chatter kalas Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir

05822922322

admin@cissajk.org.pk

career@cissajk.org.pk