They began to shoot down planes: the world froze on the brink of a nuclear conflict
India and Pakistan are once again on the verge of a war. For decades, a smoldering conflict between the two countries flared up with renewed vigor in February 2019, after the Indian Air Force attacked a militant camp in the Kashmir mountains.
The background of events is as follows. The confrontation between India and Pakistan dates back more than seventy years. Since the emergence of two independent states in the place of British India, their relations immediately acquired a conflicting component.
One of the key causes of controversy is the disputed territory of Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan consider their ancient mountain region to be theirs. In the inaccessible mountains of Kashmir, there are bases of militants of radical organizations that periodically commit terrorist acts and sabotage in India.
On February 14, a convoy of Indian soldiers was attacked by militants. Killed 45 people. An extremely tough answer came from India. On February 26, the Indian Air Force launched air strikes at the Jaish-e-Muhammad militant base near the Pakistani village of Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The militant camp was completely destroyed, up to 300 people were killed, including 25 representatives of the leadership of the organization “Jaish-e-Muhammad”. The Indian command said that such a measure was simply necessary, since the organization was planning new attacks in India, and the Pakistani leadership did not respond to India's requests to stop the activities of extremists.
Of course, a strike at the base in Balakota immediately put India and Pakistan on the brink of war. And soon the fighting itself began. Although the countries did not declare war on each other, how else to call the situation when Pakistan shot down Indian planes and India shot down Pakistani?
On the morning of February 27, Major General Asif Ghafur, spokesman for the Pakistani armed forces, announced that two Indian military aircraft had shot down the Pakistan Air Force. The pilot of one of them was captured by the Pakistanis. In response, the Indian Air Force shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter.
The history of the second half of the twentieth century has known several Indo-Pakistani wars. Therefore, in the next military conflict between India and Pakistan, there is nothing unexpected. But still, the confrontation of the two largest countries in the region is very dangerous.
At first, India and Pakistan are powers, albeit not of world, but regional level. India is the second most populous country in the world. In terms of population, Pakistan ranks sixth in the world, with far more people living there than in Russia.
SecondlyBoth India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. They have their own nuclear weapons. But even without it, the Indian and Pakistani army are very strong, well trained and armed very well.
Thirdly, the situation in the world is difficult to call stable now. The war in Syria, the events in Venezuela, the conflict in the Donbass, the complicated relations between Russia and the United States - against this background, the Indo-Pakistani conflict will become another additional problem. Moreover, it is not very clear how China, its closest neighbor, who has a long and good relationship with Islamabad, will react to the confrontation between India and Pakistan.
As for Russia, in recent years we have been developing relations not only with our traditional ally, India, but also with Pakistan. And the United States, which has always been considered the main partner of Islamabad in the region, on the contrary is trying to actively interact with India.
In any case, the world is not interested in the two Asian powers clashing in an armed conflict. Although history shows that the Indo-Pakistani wars are short-lived and do not lead to large-scale consequences, it is better that they do not exist at all.
The background of events is as follows. The confrontation between India and Pakistan dates back more than seventy years. Since the emergence of two independent states in the place of British India, their relations immediately acquired a conflicting component.
One of the key causes of controversy is the disputed territory of Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan consider their ancient mountain region to be theirs. In the inaccessible mountains of Kashmir, there are bases of militants of radical organizations that periodically commit terrorist acts and sabotage in India.
On February 14, a convoy of Indian soldiers was attacked by militants. Killed 45 people. An extremely tough answer came from India. On February 26, the Indian Air Force launched air strikes at the Jaish-e-Muhammad militant base near the Pakistani village of Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The militant camp was completely destroyed, up to 300 people were killed, including 25 representatives of the leadership of the organization “Jaish-e-Muhammad”. The Indian command said that such a measure was simply necessary, since the organization was planning new attacks in India, and the Pakistani leadership did not respond to India's requests to stop the activities of extremists.
Of course, a strike at the base in Balakota immediately put India and Pakistan on the brink of war. And soon the fighting itself began. Although the countries did not declare war on each other, how else to call the situation when Pakistan shot down Indian planes and India shot down Pakistani?
On the morning of February 27, Major General Asif Ghafur, spokesman for the Pakistani armed forces, announced that two Indian military aircraft had shot down the Pakistan Air Force. The pilot of one of them was captured by the Pakistanis. In response, the Indian Air Force shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter.
The history of the second half of the twentieth century has known several Indo-Pakistani wars. Therefore, in the next military conflict between India and Pakistan, there is nothing unexpected. But still, the confrontation of the two largest countries in the region is very dangerous.
At first, India and Pakistan are powers, albeit not of world, but regional level. India is the second most populous country in the world. In terms of population, Pakistan ranks sixth in the world, with far more people living there than in Russia.
SecondlyBoth India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. They have their own nuclear weapons. But even without it, the Indian and Pakistani army are very strong, well trained and armed very well.
Thirdly, the situation in the world is difficult to call stable now. The war in Syria, the events in Venezuela, the conflict in the Donbass, the complicated relations between Russia and the United States - against this background, the Indo-Pakistani conflict will become another additional problem. Moreover, it is not very clear how China, its closest neighbor, who has a long and good relationship with Islamabad, will react to the confrontation between India and Pakistan.
As for Russia, in recent years we have been developing relations not only with our traditional ally, India, but also with Pakistan. And the United States, which has always been considered the main partner of Islamabad in the region, on the contrary is trying to actively interact with India.
In any case, the world is not interested in the two Asian powers clashing in an armed conflict. Although history shows that the Indo-Pakistani wars are short-lived and do not lead to large-scale consequences, it is better that they do not exist at all.
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