BOOM September Issue | Page 17

bent on oppression and subjugation would pour over half a million troops into that beleaguered state. They are not there for the fresh air and picnicking. Only one force in the region is capable of rolling back Indian aggression. Only one force HAS resisted. It is the Pakistan Army, Navy, and Air Force. LAND FORCES On paper, India has a much higher number of weapons and equipment, but when the chips are down, its weaknesses are exposed. A case in point was the 2001 mobilisation of troops on the border following the farcically staged attack on the Indian parliament. It went very badly for the Indian army. At the cost of billions of dollars to the poverty-stricken Indian masses, the Army took several months to mobilise, and even when it did, it was in no position whatsoever to launch any kind of attack. The infantry proved to be less than ready, with dozens being killed in ‘friendly-fire’ attacks, and many taking their own lives due to ‘stress’. The armoured vehicles were in a gross state of disrepair and the organisation was chaotic. The whole charade turned out to be more of an exercise in vanity and bluster than actual military sense. The Pakistani response could not have been more different. Multip