While the terrorist nation Pakistan has been reduced to selling buffaloes to save the country from financial collapse and begging to IMF to keep their country running, it still has the audacity and is shameless enough to issue threats to India.
Pakistan is completely rattled with India’s decision to buy US $ 5 billion worth of S-400 air defense system from Russia. On the other hand, the central bank of Pakistan only has 10 billion dollars foreign exchange reserve with which imports of only two months could be supported.
Pakistan strongly believes that India’s decision to buy Russian S-400 air defence system “will further destabilize strategic stability in South Asia besides leading to a renewed arms race,” said the Pakistan Foreign Office in a statement.
On Friday, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal also said, “The Indian purchase of S-400 missile system is a part of their efforts to acquire a BMD system through multiple sources.”
According to the Hindustan Times report, Mohammad Faisal also maintained that India’s rejection of a “strategic restraint regime” proposed by Pakistan after the May 1998 nuclear tests by both countries had forced Islamabad to develop capabilities that can “render any BMD (ballistic missile defence) system ineffective and unreliable”
People find it immensely difficult to remember when was the last time Pakistan was stable, even remotely. Basically, their statement is indirect begging asking someone to donate them enough amount of money to buy S-400 air defense system.
An advance weapon like S-400 air defense system would rather stabilize the region as such weapon would act as deterrent to any adventurism, the kind Pakistan is known for. That’s why they are scared which is clearly evident in the statement of Pakistan.
The S-400 Triumf air defense system is going to be a huge boost as far as India’s military capabilities are concerned. It is one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world. It can track numerous incoming objects- all kinds of aircraft, missiles and UAVs — in a radius of a few hundred kilometers and launch appropriate missiles to neutralize them. The S-400 air defense system is a highly sophisticated and robust system being a large complex of radars, control systems and different types of missiles. Its radars can pick up incoming objects up to a range of 1,000 km, track several incoming objects simultaneously and launch appropriate missiles for such targets. It has a high success rate to go with such high standards of efficiency and automation. It can engage up to a mind boggling 36 targets at a time and simultaneously launch 72 missiles.
India will deploy the system to cover its airspace towards China, however it’s prime use would be against terrorist nation- Pakistan. With the new advanced weapon, India can strike targets well inside Pakistan territory and not just in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The Air force will get a major boost. It can easily establish it’s supremacy over Pakistan Air Force as S-400’s ability to take out early warning and control platforms would blind the PAF. As a Pakistani editor writes,
“And its (S-400’s) four different types of interceptor missiles take out Pakistani fighters. Indian warplanes hit their targets in Pakistan and return.” It will also give India, a significant edge in Pro-active Operations (POAs).
As far as Pakistan is concerned, currently it is not financially strong enough to afford such an advance air defence system and the way things are going it doesn’t seems that its financial conditions will ameliorate. In the past few years we have witnessed that Pakistan has become used to living on borrowed money. The country asks for money to rich countries like United States and China. When the money borrowed from these countries is not enough for survival of the country, they move to international organizations like IMF. For years the country has used its strategic geopolitical location to get money from United States. Pakistan had become a pawn in the hands of US in its proxy war with USSR. For years, US pumped billions of dollars in Pakistan as financial and military aid. In the post-cold war world it allied with China due to their mutual fear of India. But as economic clout of China has grown over the years, the relationship of equals became like that of a colonial subject and master. The foreign money has helped Pakistan live beyond means. The country faces typical debt problem where government spending exceeds revenues and imports outpace exports. Pakistan has foreign exchange only to support two months of imports and that too due to loans from Pakistan. As the country faces another balance of payments crisis, the government has decided to move to International Monetary Fund to seek help. The bureaucrats of the country has prepared plan for 12 billion dollars help from IMF. If the country succeeds in negotiations with IMF, this would be the thirteenth bailout package for Pakistan since 1988. The country has taken 12 bailout package from IMF in the last three decades despite consistent monetary help from US and China in form of military and financial aids. Neighboring countries India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka has taken substantially lower number of bailout packages in the same period with India having only two both during 1991 financial crisis.
The timely bailout packages and foreign helps never forced Pakistan government to take structural reforms to solve the chronic diseases of balance of payments. Whenever there was an economic trouble, country used its strategic location to seek financial help from foreign countries which were ready to help given the country agrees to become pawn to them in their foreign affairs strategy. This time Trump administration has decided to cut military and financial aids to the country and it had already taken successive loans from China. The country has already got tonnes of money from financial institutions and countries but condition is same in the last seven decades and will remain same in future as well.
Despite in such a destitute condition, Pakistan has the audacity to question India on S-400 deal on which even US bowed down under India’s pressure. “On S-400, I can tell you that this is dictated by our national interests,” said ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.
