As the squadron strength of the Indian Air Force now reaches to 31, Pakistan is visibly spooked and is crying foul over how India is permitted, by the world community to amass defence equipment beyond its needs and requirements. As such, even while the terror state would like to put up an act of indifference when reacting to India inducting the first batch of Rafale jets into its Air Force, the Pakistani deep state is well aware of the fact that the power asymmetry between India and Pakistan, which has always favoured India, will now be tilting more so east of Lahore.
It is for this very reason that Pakistan foreign ministry spokeswoman, Aisha Farooqui accused India of “disproportionate arms build-up”, adding that it “could also lead to an arms race in South Asia”. “India continues to amass military capabilities beyond its security requirement,” Farooqui told reporters. Pakistan urged the international community to “dissuade” India from its “disproportionate” arms build-up.
While the Pakistani security establishment is terrified with the induction of Rafale jets into India’s Air Force, the common Pakistani citizens are hopping on to the internet to figure out whether the new jets acquired by India pose a threat to their dear country.
Google trends show that across Pakistan, on Wednesday and Thursday, ‘Rafale’ was trending as a highly searched word on the internet. Further, Pakistanis also ran comparisons between the Rafale and their own F-16’s. Searches regarding the best fighter aircraft in the world were also seen trending in the cyberspace of Pakistan.
According to the Global Firepower Index 2020, India is ranked as the fourth most powerful nation out of a list of 138. Pakistan, on the other hand, is ranked 15 on the charts. India aggressively buying defence equipment is bound to terrify an already rattled Pakistan with an inefficient and unprofessional military which leaves no opportunity to extort the joke of a country.
The Pakistan Army, in any case, demands a raise from the puppet civilian administration at the drop of a hat. With every defence equipment that is procured by India, the Pakistani military takes to extorting their country on grounds of them having to match up to India’s power asymmetry. The Rafale induction by India will most surely serve as yet another pretext for the Pakistani Army to strong-arm the ceremonial government into expending more on building the Islamic nation’s military capabilities. It is ordinary Pakistanis which suffer as a consequence, almost every time.
For a country which is, in any case, spending disproportionately on its defence budget, the Rafale jets being inducted by India come as yet another eyesore. Pakistan not just spends on its military, but also on terrorists, which it calls “non-state actors” to wage a proxy war against India.
In such an atmosphere, it is a but given that Pakistan will turn to China, which will further benefit the CCP and will further entrap the Islamic state under debt. Essentially, the Rafale fighter jets have set in motion a classical chain of events yet again, which are seen whenever India acquires new and formidable defence equipment. India has already given the go-ahead for procurement of 33 additional Sukhoi Su-30 MKI and MiG-29 fighter jets. It will only further exacerbate the desperation of the Pakistani security establishment in the times to come.