‘Field Marshal’ Asim Munir’s statement, that the Pakistani economy is like a dumper truck that would cause to the ‘Mercedes’ like Indian economy great harm in a collision, is being seen as an inadvertent acknowledgement of the comparative state of the two economies. As such the comment is being trolled heavily on social media. However, he is correct in that Pakistan has nothing to lose and the damage will be done to the nation that is asset rich.
This reality also became evident when India refrained from escalating the Operation Sindoor gains to a more ambitious scale. The leaders of the opposition who claim that PM Modi succumbed to US pressure and ‘failed to take POK’, should understand that the stakes need to be much higher for India to go into total war mode. India’s assets even along the border, within reach of Pakistan’s conventional artillery, are more valuable than anything the adversary possesses.
The brief conflict that took place has clearly awakened the Indian strategists to consider ‘victory at what cost’? This will be a major factor in making plans vis-à-vis Pakistan.
India’s plan to establish an ‘Iron Dome’ like defence system comes from this realisation. It is not just absolute military dominance that is being sought, the purpose is to pay as small a price as possible to achieve the goal. The Pakistani approach has now become that of – ‘hum toh dubenge sanam, tumhe bhi le dubenge’ – a collective suicide bomber type philosophy. It is now attempting to encircle India by involving Bangladesh, while using what it can of Chinese and US support.
It is no surprise that Indians are witnessing their government ratchet up defence acquisitions including fighter aircraft, missiles, submarines, et al. The sense of urgency is greater than ever – matters cannot be left to mere natural evolution of capacity. It is costlier to maintain a Mercedes than a dumper truck. In times when the economy is facing other crises such as US tariffs, the challenge has become even more complex. The metaphorical Mercedes needs to increase its speed to a point where no dumper can get anywhere near it. The impediments that can slow it down need to be identified – be they regarding infrastructure; innovation; technology; human resources; or regulatory issues. Needing to do so in present circumstances poses another challenge, as politics has reached divisive levels rarely encountered before. The leaders may not, but the people need to unite as it is they who stand to lose the most if there are any setbacks.
