An ode to the odious little Nasr

Dec 25 2015 , Sunil Sharan

 

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/an-ode-to-the-odious-little-nasr/174902.html

Pakistan has developed low-yield nuclear bombs on short-range rockets to make the Nasr. Pakistan claims that this free proliferation of nuclear weapons at the brigade level was undertaken to counter India’s Cold Start military doctrine. 

Aah, you little beauty, you little Nasr, you have finally brought two major powers to their knees, and that too without firing a single shot. Illustration: Sandeep Joshi

Out there in the US, there is real consternation that this micro-mini Pakistani tactical nuke will fall into the hands of jihadis who would then use it against the American mainland. Washington has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in securing Pakistan's big, strategic nukes but to the Nasr it has no answers. Why? 

Because the Nasr is a javelin-like structure, deployed in the battlefield against tanks, and under the operational command of a brigadier. Think of how many brigadiers there are in Pakistan's seven hundred thousand-strong army — two hundred, three hundred, five hundred- and that would be the number of tiny Nasrs floating about in the battlefield. 

The Pakistani army is steeped in religion. Its soldiers are indoctrinated as ghazis — warriors of the faith — against the infidel, Hindu India. Its forces have time and again been caught with jihadi tendencies, whether it is the PNS Mehran attack or the arrest of the radicalised Brigadier Ali Khan. Its leadership has emphasised that its force is free of jihadi strains but the world at large has remained unconvinced.

A dirty bomb, small enough to be smuggled in a suitcase, is America's worst nightmare. Until now it was assumed that that terrorists did not have the wherewithal to put one together. But Pakistan has solved their problem for them. All a jihadi officer has to do is smuggle the little Nasr to a terrorist and there you have it, America's worst nightmare would have come true.

On bended knees, America is imploring Pakistan to get rid of the Nasrs. But Pakistan must have its pound of flesh. Washington is abuzz with a civilian nuclear deal for the Pakistanis. The contours are faint but it seems to involve access to nuclear technology, as well as membership of the nuclear suppliers group, a facility not yet afforded India.

Pakistan insists that the Nasrs are safe and are only for use against India were the latter to implement its Cold Start Doctrine: A rapid ingress of armoured forces into Pakistan, the destruction of a few jihadi camps, and then a steep withdrawal back into India. But so high is the risk associated with a potential leak of the Nasr, that Washington has put pressure on India to talk to Pakistan about Kashmir.

An India that was only willing to talk terror with Pakistan has within the space of a couple of weeks turned turtle to not only talk Kashmir but all aspects of the relationship. Oh, how the Pakistani military must be gloating. So the little Nasr has paid off in spades for Pakistan. It has almost swung an energy deal for it, and brought India down to its knees in discussing Kashmir. It is not for the first time that Pakistan has run circles around India. In 1989, India backed the wrong horse in Afghanistan and Pakistan was able to send scores of jihadis into Kashmir. This time round too, India's Afghan policy seems weak, with Pakistan holding many an ace. The fiasco at Kargil needs no further recounting. What allows a much smaller nation like Pakistan to push India around? Firstly, a career in the Pakistani armed forces is prized. The best brains in Pakistan want to become a military officer. In return, the state guarantees them cradle-to-grave welfare, making a military career worth their while. 

In India though, Army officers are treated shabbily. Witness their humiliation over one rank one pension. The Indian armed forces face a current lacuna of 10,000 officers. In a million-man force, that is one officer per 100 men. The quality of officers who join, sad to say, are not in the strategic league of their Pakistani counterparts. 

Until such time that the Indian government realises its follies, and restores the sheen of the armed forces, developments like the little Nasr will hem us in, both militarily, as well as diplomatically. 

The writer is a freelance journalist