Fernandes replies to Musharraf’s threat

Earlier delivering the inaugural address at a seminar on The challenges of Limited War’ organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) here, Fernandes reacted to Pakistan’s chief executive General Pervez Musharraf’s nuclear threat and said that nuclear weapons had not made wars obsolete but had added another dimension to warfare. On Musharraf’s threat to use nuclear weapons, Fernandes said the statement was full of contradictions.

“If India can beat Pakistani forces equipped with modern firepower and after dominating heights at a time of Pakistan’s choice with the initiative also in its hand, then India can beat Pakistan anytime, anywhere,” he said. “It is Pakistan’s mistake in convincing itself that under the nuclear umbrella it will be able to take Kashmir,” he added.

Fernandes said that if war does take place, it will have to be limited and kept below the nuclear threshold. “This would require close examination of our doctrine, defence strategy and force structure,” he said.

Fernandes said that after Pakistan’s nuclear tests, the military there had started believing that India would not retaliate and would not be able to counter cross-border terrorism. But they have been proved wrong.

Speaking on “limited wars”, he said that even countries like China projected that future wars would be limited.

“Methods of employing military power have been undergoing changes. The soldier and the diplomat need to work hand in hand as application of military power can be purposeful only if directed by political goals and objectives,” he added.

Former Director IDSA K Subrahmanyam in his address said the awareness about the continuous war that Pakistan was waging was missing. “Troop alert, smuggling of fake currency, terrorist attacks and the killing of 25,000 people in 10 years are all pointers to this war,” he said.