Pakistani Border Forces Poise for Leap on New Delhi
Last week, DEBKA-Net-Weekly reported US president George W. Bush as having resigned himself to Indian-Pakistani frictions erupting into a frontal war. The upshot is alarming.
Nothing but a single match is now missing to ignite a nuclear war in the Indian subcontinent.
India and Pakistan have prepared their nuclear weapons for reciprocal strikes, bringing nuclear warheads out of storage and placing them in firing position.
Just as alarmingly, the two armies, far from confining the war arena to the disputed Kashmir province, are both poised ready to thrust deep into the other’s territory, so as to hit enemy lines from the rear.
Thursday, May 30, Pakistan moved five brigades of the Karachi Corps out of their bases – some on the Afghan border – to the frontier towns of Gadra Road, Darwaza, and Fort Abbas in Baluchistan, opposite the Indian town of Annpagrah, from which a road leads to New Delhi. These five brigades turned the Pakistani border contingents into a strike force for a deep push into India.
In addition, Pakistani strike formations, made up of North and South Army Reserves – including one armored corps – are stationed alongside Pakistan’s Special Forces units in the Rajouri sector of Jammu.
Pakistan is thus ready to invade India from two directions.
The Indian army, for its part, placed eight of its nine strike divisions on the highest state of preparedness on Tuesday, May 8. DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military forces report those divisions have been positioned in jumping off bases. The 21st Strike Force has advanced towards Akhnoor in Jammu region, to threaten northern Pakistan. The three Indian corps, the 14th, the 15th and the 16th deployed in Kashmir, are taking in heavy reinforcements of tanks and infantry brigades.
The Indians have made a supreme effort to bring their air force to operational level. By mid-week, they succeeded in bringing 690 of their 750 bombers, fighters, interceptors and ground attack craft up to scratch. It will be mainly up to the Indian air force to halt any Pakistani attempt to advance on New Delhi.
Following the withdrawal of Pakistani units from the Afghan frontier, there is no longer any bar to al Al Qaeda units heading into Pakistan. There, the terrorists can join Pakistani forces. Their raiders will be able to strike advancing Indian troops, stirring up the conflict and keeping the war flames high.
This week, the Indian defense minister fully confirmed the disclosure appearing for the first time in last week’s DEBKA-Net-Weekly, that al Qaeda was stirring up the war fever between Pakistan and India. The Pentagon followed suit.
