Abstract
The overt nuclearization in South Asia brought peace and closed the doors for any conventional war between India and Pakistan. But the Indian military doctrinal transformation after 1998 threatened the deterrence stability in South Asia. The idea of limited war under the nuclear umbrella, also known as Cold Start Doctrine (CSD), compelled Pakistan to develop nuclear tipped low yield battlefield nuclear weapons to deter shallow manoeuvres by the Indian Army. Indian Military, later realized that the idea of limited war is risky, and it may escalate into a major war, thus, came up with the idea of sub-conventional warfare, the surgical strikes in its the Joint Armed Forces Doctrine-2017. The Indian military planners perceived that there is a possibility of surgical strikes or limited war in South Asia. However, Pakistani policy makers firmly believe that any attempt to carry out surgical strike will be massively retaliated within shortest possible time. Later, the risk and cost associated with any direct military engagement compelled Indian policy makers to emphasize more on hybrid warfare strategy and indirectly capitalize on the socio-economic, ethno-religious, and political vulnerabilities of Pakistan. The study seeks to analyse the Indian military’s doctrinal shift and its implications for the strategic stability of South Asia. It also deals with Pakistan’s conventional and nuclear response to the doctrinal transformation by the Indian military. The strategic shift in the Indian military’s thinking is continuous because Pakistan came up with adequate answers to their doctrinal manoeuvring.
Keyword(s)
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