If Provoked By Pak, India Now More Likely To Give Military Response: US Report

New Delhi:

The US intelligence community told lawmakers on Wednesday that they expected rising tensions between India and Pakistan and between India and China and the potential for conflict between them.

It has also been said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than ever to respond to Pakistani provocations with military force.

The assessment is part of the US Intelligence Community’s annual threat assessment, which was presented to the US Congress by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence during a congressional hearing.

The report said that while India and China are engaged in bilateral border talks and settling border points, relations will remain strained in 2020 in the wake of the countries’ deadly conflict, the most serious in decades.

The expanded military posturing by both India and China along the disputed border raises the risk of an armed confrontation between the two nuclear powers that could involve direct threats to US persons and interests, and calls for US intervention. Previous standoffs have demonstrated that persistent low-level friction along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has the potential to escalate rapidly.

According to the report, the crisis between India and Pakistan is of particular concern because of the risk of an escalating cycle between the two nuclear-armed states. New Delhi and Islamabad are keen to consolidate the existing calm in their ties after both sides resume ceasefire along the Line of Control, possibly in early 2021.

“However, Pakistan has a long history of supporting anti-India extremist groups, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been more prepared than in the past to respond with military force to perceived or actual Pakistani provocations.” There is a possibility. Each side’s perception that heightened tensions increase the risk of conflict, violent unrest in Kashmir or a terrorist attack in India could be potential flashpoints,” it said.

Responding to a question, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the US-Pakistan Counterterrorism Dialogue provides an opportunity for the US to express its willingness to work with Pakistan to combat terrorist threats and violent extremism. area, threats that have the potential to cross this area as well.

“We have a common interest in combating threats to regional security. The goal of a stable and secure South and Central Asia free of terrorism depends to a large extent on the strength of our partnership with Pakistan. There is testament. There is an opportunity for frank discussion on how we can take action together to have a resilient security relationship and counter all terrorist groups that threaten regional and global stability.”

Price said, “The United States is looking to expand our partnership to address these challenges. Any grouping that threatens regional and global stability is certainly of concern to us. It’s something that But we discussed in the context of this anti-terrorism dialogue.”

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