FIZA ZIAPakistan’s ballistic missile program has been in the eyes of the United States
and India since the beginning of the day and these countries consider it a threat to themselves, which can be gauged from the recent statement of US Deputy National Security Advisor John Finer in which he said that “Pakistan’s ballistic missile technology is a growing threat to the United States that can target the United States.”
It should be remembered that a day before this statement, the United States imposed sanctions on Pakistan’s National Missile Development Agency and its 3 vendor companies. The US State Department’s statement said that these sanctions have been imposed under the US executive order that has been implemented to prevent nuclear weapons and their proliferation. Later, the Pakistani Foreign Office termed John Finer’s statement as ridiculous and said, “No responsible Pakistani official has ever threatened to launch missiles at the United States. There is no threat to the United States from Pakistan’s missile program. Pakistan’s nuclear or missile program is only for Pakistan’s security. The United States knows why Pakistan started its nuclear program.” The United States has previously expressed its concerns over Pakistan’s ballistic missile program and says that refusing to support Pakistan’s ballistic missile program is part of US policy. However, this is the first time that the United States has imposed sanctions on a national company of Pakistan, which is certainly a cause for concern. The United States alleges that NDC is involved in the production and development of Pakistan’s Shaheen missile series ballistic missiles. It should be remembered that earlier in September this year, the United States had imposed sanctions on several Chinese companies, including a Chinese research institute, which allegedly supplied equipment to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program. These companies were also accused of supplying components for Pakistan’s Shaheen Missile 3 and Ababeel Systems rocket motors despite missile technology restrictions. It should be noted that Pakistan’s medium-range ballistic missiles Shaheen 3 and Ababeel missiles are among the most capable missiles. The Shaheen 3 missile has a range of 2,750 kilometers, while Ababeel is the first missile in South Asia that can carry multiple warheads or nuclear weapons up to a distance of 2,200 kilometers and can hit various targets in India. Unlike Pakistan’s Shaheen and Ababeel missiles, India’s Agni-5 intercontinental missile has a range of 5,000 kilometers, which can hit targets as far away as China, apart from Pakistan. India is openly buying equipment from around the world for its missile program, but why are companies supplying equipment to the Indian missile program exempted from US sanctions? In my opinion, the answer to this is; Pakistan has recently signed a deal with China, under which China will give us forty J30A fifth-generation fighter aircraft equipped with stealth technology.
From the perspective of the balance of power in the region, I think this is a much bigger deal than CPEC because these aircraft are comparable to the most advanced American aircraft and, like the F-16, provide countries like Pakistan with such advanced technology forty years after its invention. After acquiring these forty aircraft in two years, Pakistan will become the fifth country in the world after the United States, Russia, South Korea and China to have fighter jets equipped with supersonic stealth technology, which are not only famous for their effectiveness in delivering nuclear weapons, but also cannot be detected and shot down.
The most important thing is that under the agreement, like the JF-17, these aircraft will also be manufactured in Pakistan in the future. At a time when just a year ago, fears of Pakistan going bankrupt were on everyone’s lips, Army Chief Syed Asim Munir has certainly hit a huge and incredible six, then Written By: Fiza Zia the world experts of Mutually Assured Destruction, think tanks and war strategists have been brainstorming on the long-term impact of Pakistan’s recent move on South Asia and the Middle East. If we talk only about the impact on India, the fifth generation, supersonic stealth J35 fighter jets that Pakistan is getting from China will change the balance of power in the region in such a way that the 2200 fighter jets of various types that India has will suddenly become insufficient for its defense.
For a new balance of power, it will have to buy American F-35 fighter jets immediately and on the strictest terms, which are so expensive that they can slow down the Indian economy. On the other hand, how will America, which is not ready to transfer technology up to F-16 to India, be ready to transfer technology of F-35, while China is ready to do the same for Pakistan in the case of J-35? That is, even if India buys F-35 aircraft from America on the strictest American terms to compete with Pakistan, they will be just aircraft, there will be no technology transfer.
In this case, India will be forced to become America’s sidekick for spare parts for more or less twenty years, losing its traditional uniqueness in terms of foreign policy, through which it did not become a regular part of any global pool of power for seventy years of independence and continued to benefit simultaneously from all warring power brokers, including America and Russia. For the balance of power, even if India unconditionally joins the American camp and obtains 200 F-35s, which is impossible, in the event of a war with Pakistan, it will not be able to bring all its planes, which will be 2400 in the new situation, only to the Pakistani border because it will have to keep more than half of them on standby for China on the other border, While Pakistan can deploy more than two-thirds of its jets in a war against India, Even if Pakistan has more planes in numbers than India, and there will be no threat on its other borders as India does on the China border. That is, India will be exposed to the threat of attack by fifth generation aircraft from both sides. For a real balance of power, it will need more fighter jets than the combined fighter jets of both Pakistan and China, which can never be possible for it.
The imbalance created in the region by today’s Pak-China deal will not change even in the next two decades. The fighter jets that America provides to Arab countries are not comparable to the fighter jets provided to Israel. The inclusion of J35 aircraft in the Pakistani fleet will actually create a demand for these aircraft in the Arab market, which will not only deal a major blow to a major American economic interest, but will also raise questions about Israel’s defense. Being a prudent person with understanding of the whole game I can clearly see that China is entering the next phase of challenging the West and especially the United States, and after South Asia, it has its eyes on changing the balance of power in the Middle East in its favor.
One aspect of the recent Pak-China deal is that now a new and unprecedented race of conventional arms is about to begin in the region. While this new race will shrink the Indian economy, Pakistan’s debts will also increase.
I, Fiza Zia, with heart and soul on fire, For Pakistan’s honor, my life I’ll aspire. Through every test, I’ll stand and proudly fight, For my beloved nation, I’ll shine with all my light. (FIZA ZIA)
Writer is law analyst and she can be reached at [email protected]
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect ‘Daily The Spokesman’ point of view
