It is said that those countries that take the interests of their enemies into account, develop faster. Often, that has not been the case, and countries have been fighting their enemies, trying to win them over. Both countries would have war casualties and one loses.
There are many examples of this, such as in the turbulent European history, perhaps even up to the formation of the European Union; the countries fought big wars against each other, whether it was World War I or World War II. In the wars, one side won and the other side lost. But then, these countries shifted their priorities from war to peace and were united for the aim of global development. Other countries, too, have given up armed conflicts, be it domestic or regional.
The difference between traditional and non-traditional war is that in a traditional war, one country attacks another. In a non-traditional war or conflict, one country does not directly attack its enemy but still inflicts damage on it. It can, for example, be through economic measures, or through propaganda and accusations. It can also be through the support of opposition organisations within the country.
An example of this is that during the pandemic, when Covid-19 spread, some people in the West called it a conspiracy and accused China of attacking other countries. Economies in many countries were affected, but China’s economy grew more than before. China was accused of having created the virus in a lab, and its move was linked to a non-traditional threat. Yet, currently, contradicting the conspiracy theories, China itself is still fighting the pandemic while others have recovered.
Now, a few words about the relations between Pakistan and India, which have been at locker heads since day one, and have been plotting against each other, even having fought four wars. Pakistan also obtained nuclear weapons because of poor and antagonistic relations with India, which may also again have become a major nuclear power because of Pakistan’s rearmament.
As the world is progressing, the frenzy of war is also decreasing because if a country invades another country, all others will impose economic and other sanctions on the aggressor. Because of this fear, many are afraid of going to war. Some large countries with strong economies do still attack smaller countries, and economic sanction against them would not affect them much. Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine is one example.
Generally, though, economic sanctions have a significant effect on smaller countries. For 20 years, Pakistan and India have not fought a traditional war. They know that whoever attacks first will be subject to economic and other sanctions, as well as criticism from countries and activist groups.
Although India does not attack Pakistan directly, Pakistan has complained about non-traditional attacks, or lack of constructive cooperation. During this monsoon season, overflowing water from Indian rivers has affected Pakistan badly. The Pakistan Foreign Office has expressed concern over the release of water by India into the already flooded rivers of Pakistan, saying that the practice under these circumstances has been a ‘recurrent’problem.
Torrential monsoon rains have caused havoc in many parts of Pakistan with over 1,500 having perished, including children. Huge damage to property has taken place, and an estimated 1.8 million houses have been washed away, close to one million livestock have been killed, and more. During a natural catastrophe, it has been claimed that India released huge quantities of water downstream, measured as 300,000 cusecs, into the already flooded rivers of Pakistan.
But here is a question; Pakistan recently celebrated its Golden Jubilee and before this, we witnessed three devastating flood in 1992 and 2010, and now again in 2022.Yet, Pakistan has still not been able to save its people from the major flood disaster. We focus on India’s lack of cooperation, but at the same time we could have done nothing more to prevent thereoccurrence of floods ourselves. As of July, 2019, the total number of large dams in India is over 5,000, and about 450 new, large dams are under construction in India. In terms of number of dams, India ranks third after China and USA. Pakistan has just about 150 dams spread across all the provinces. Pakistan must give more focus to projects that have long-term and preventive affects, being a defense towards India’s lack of cooperation during recurrent floods disasters in Pakistan.