India, Pakistan deploy missiles

NEW DELHI, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Both India and Pakistan have moved their missiles close to the border and the line of control that divides the disputed Himalayan valley of Kashmir.

Quoting defense sources several Indian and Pakistani newspapers reported the move in their early Internet editions Wednesday.

"Pakistan has redeployed its strategic units aggressively" close to Indian positions, reported The Times of India. Both the countries use the term 'strategic unit' for troops equipped with ordinary and nuclear tipped missiles.

The Pakistani newspaper -- the Jang -- reported similar deployment on the Indian side, saying that the Indians were preparing for a war.

Officially, both sides deny such reports and blame the other for pushing for the war but the situation has deteriorated rapidly since Dec. 13 when alleged Kashmiri militants attacked the Indian parliament. Nine Indian security men and all five attackers were killed in the fight that followed.

In New Delhi, India's prime minister blamed Pakistan Tuesday of thrusting a war upon India, while Pakistan's president told a crowd in Karachi that his forces were ready for "any Indian adventure."

"We do not want war but war is being thrust on us and we will have to face it," Indian leader Atal Behari Vajpayee told a rally organized by the youth wing of his Bharatiya Janata Party on his 77th birthday.

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf echoed similar sentiments when he told a rally in the southern port city of Karachi that Pakistan did not want a war but "is capable of defending itself if forced to fight."

Although talking tough, Pakistan made a little reconciliatory gesture Tuesday when it arrested a fundamentalist leader blamed by India for the suicide attack on its parliament.

Maulana Masud Azhar heads a militant organization called Jasih-i-Mohammed, one of the two groups blamed for the attack. Pakistan also has frozen the accounts of the other militant outfit, Lashkar-i-Toiba and forced its chief, Hafiz Mohammed Sayeed, to resign.

But India described these measures as "too little and too late" and urged Pakistan to disband all militants groups fighting in Kashmir and arrest their leaders.

As politicians exchanged allegations, residents on both sides of the border reported heavy troop-movement.

Even in a major urban center like Karachi, people saw hundreds of military vehicles moving anti-aircraft guns and missiles to sensitive areas to prepare for a surprise Indian attack, as a Pakistani military official said.

A presidential spokesman, Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi, described the move as "an appropriate defensive measure against massive troop movement on the Indian side."

Officials told Indian journalists in New Delhi that Pakistan had made "some aggressive deployment along the border and in Kashmir during the last 24 hours."

They said the Pakistanis also had deployed "medium range ballistic missiles at some places."

"Moving missiles to sensitive areas has increased tensions. We are worried these missiles may be used. We are keeping a close watch," an Indian military official told The Times of India.

To counter these moves, the report said, Indian forces have "accelerated mine-laying operations in the border areas."

Residents reported heavy cross border firing in Kashmir during the last 24 hours, killing several villagers on both sides. Both sides also claimed destroying each other's bunkers and military positions along the line of control in Kashmir. A group of journalists who visited Kashmir Tuesday reported a continuous exchange of mortar and heavy machinegun fire between the Indian and Pakistani forces.

I forget who first said this: "There are no permanent allies or enemies, only permanent self interest."

Nevertheless, broad cultural affinity- or lack thereof- between any two nations, which are generally underpinned by the manner of expression of the moral/ethical values of the predominant religions practiced therein, can be a fairly accurate predictor for the durability of any particular kind of relationship between said countries. So I concur that India would appear to be the more rational, natural choice for an ally, despite their prior flirting (and that taught a good lesson to the Indians!!) with the Chinese.

PS- Even a cursory comparison of the primary religious texts of Islam and Hinduism will reveal to common sense that the latter poses no threat to anyone, whereas the former, well, 'ye shall know them by their fruits...'

If what I read is correct, then both India and pakistan posses crude fission nuclear weapons with short and medium range missles and bombers to deliver them with. If this is the case then, it would definitely be in the interest of the Chinese to provoke such a war. The fallout of a few dozen fission bombs will not cause nuclear winter or economic devastation, the U.S and the USSR detonated hundreds of hydrogen bombs in the cold war without serious side effects. On the economic front, the disturbance is minimal. India was a relatively small and insignificant economy compared to the major economies (japan, china, U.s, EU), and Pakistan doesn't really even have an economy. If this war turns nuclear than india and pakistan will likely lose all their major cities, thus india will be set back by a generation or more, China will not even have to expend resources to contain india. So I think we can all agree that this war should be avoided eh?

Here's a breakdown of the military forces of the two countries:

Comparative Military Might
Of India And Pakistan
Amid War Clouds
By Indo-Asian News Service
12-25-1

New Delhi (IANS) - Heightened tension between India and Pakistan has led to the massing of troops along their winding border, sparking fears of a military conflict.

The following is a comparison of the military strength of the two countries:

India:

Army: 1.1 million personnel with five regional commands and 12 corps. Reserves: Territorial Army - 40,000 volunteers

Equipment : 3,400 main battle tanks, including T-55, T-72, Vijayanta. 90 light tanks 1,450 infantry combat vehicles 300 armoured personnel carriers 4,175 pieces of towed artillery, including 155mm Bofors howitzers, 130 mm guns, 105 mm guns About 200 pieces of self-propelled artillery 2,400 air defence guns Unspecified number of Searcher and other unmanned aerial vehicles 150 helicopters

Navy: 53,000 personnel with three commands and far Eastern joint command in the Andaman and Nicobar island chain. Personnel include 1,000 marine commandos.

Equipment : 10 Russian-made Kilo-class submarines, four HDW SSK submarines and two Soviet era Foxtrot submarines, one aircraft carrier with Sea King helicopters and Sea Harrier aircraft, eight guided missile destroyers, 11 frigates, seven corvettes and 39 patrol and offshore combat vessels, 18 mine warfare vessels, seven amphibious combat vessels, 32 support vessels. 20 Sea Harrier aircraft, 29 Dornier aircraft, 10 Il-38 and Tu-142 reconnaissance aircraft, some 70 helicopters, including Ka-25s.

Air Force: 110,000 personnel with five regional commands

Equipment: More than 700 combat aircraft, including Su-30, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29, Mirage 2000, Jaguar maritime aircraft. More than 20 attack helicopters, including Mi-25 and Mi-35. Four Boeing electronic intelligence aircraft, two reconnaissance squadrons, More than 200 transport aircraft, including Dorniers, An-32, Avros, Il-76. More than 150 transport helicopters, including Mi-8, Mi-17 and Mi-26.

Missiles: Unspecified number of Prithvi nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles.

Pakistan:

Army: 550,000 personnel with nine corps headquarters. Reserves: 513,000 personnel.

Equipment: 2,300 main battle tanks, including M-47, M-48, T-55, Chinese-made Type 59, Type 69, Type 85 and T-80UD. 1,150 armoured personnel carriers. 1,400 pieces of towed artillery, including 155mm, 130mm and 203mm guns. 250 pieces of self-propelled artillery. More than 2,000 air defence guns, 20 attack helicopters, more than 100 transport helicopters and unspecified number of Bravo UAVs.

Navy: 25,000 personnel, including 1,200 marines and 2,000 personnel of Maritime Security Agency. Main base at Karachi.

Equipment: 10 submarines, including French-made Agosta, Daphne armed with Harpoon missiles, eight frigates, five missile crafts, three coastal patrol boats, one inshore patrol vessel, six mine warfare and nine support vessels Five naval combat aircraft and nine armed helicopters

Air Force: 45,000 personnel with three regional commands

Equipment: More than 350 combat aircraft, including Mirage III, Mirage 5, Chinese-made Q-5. One reconnaissance squadron More than 20 transport aircraft, including C-130 Hercules, Boeing 707.

Missiles: Unspecified number of Hatf-I, Hatf-II short-range missiles

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