U.S. Report Predicts PM Modi May Use Military Force on Pakistan
In order to take undue political advantage, Modi often spreads the fear of war with Pakistan.
By Rakesh Raman
Crises between India and Pakistan are of particular concern because of the risk of an escalatory cycle between two nuclear-armed states. This concern is stated in the 2022 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community report released on March 8.
Without giving any evidence, the report presumes that Pakistan has a long history of supporting anti-India militant groups. The report adds that under the leadership of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to perceived or real Pakistani provocations.
In order to take undue political advantage, Modi often spreads the fear of war with Pakistan with the hollow threat of nuclear attack on the neighboring Muslim nation to win Indian Hindu voters’ support, although there is hardly any aggression from Pakistan’s side.
According to the report, each side’s perception of heightened tensions raises the risk of conflict, with violent unrest in Kashmir or a militant attack in India being potential flashpoints.
In fact, Kashmir is a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Reports suggest that India has deployed nearly 900,000 security personnel to control unarmed Kashmiris (nearly 80% are Muslims), and nearly 80,000 civilians have been killed in the conflicts during the past 7 decades.
Kashmir has always been a conflict area between India and Pakistan since 1947 when both these countries got freedom from British rule. In order to stake their claims over Kashmir, India and Pakistan have fought two aggressive wars in 1965 and 1971, besides incessant skirmishes between the rival armies.
The Modi government’s annexation of Kashmir is a unilateral, authoritarian move, which is expected to make Kashmir a veritable inferno because most people of Kashmir do not want to live under the Indian rule where Modi is the ruler.
Today, nearly 2 billion Muslims of the world expect the global community – including the U.S. – to save the Muslims of Kashmir who are being treated as slaves by the Modi government.
As there are extreme human rights violations in the Kashmir region – which is under the occupation of Indian security forces – the Freedom House report of 2022 states that Kashmir – with a Global Freedom Score of just 27 – is “Not Free”.
The 2022 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community report reflects the collective insights of the intelligence community, which provides information to policymakers to protect American lives and America’s interests in all parts of the world.
The report will be provided to the congressional intelligence committees as well as the committees on the Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
