A Cold Start: India’s Response to Pakistan-Aided Low-Intensity Conflict

A. Vinod Kumar
A. Vinod Kumar was Associate Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), and a Visiting Faculty at the Institute of Foreign Policy Studies (IFPS), University… Continue reading A Cold Start: India’s Response to Pakistan-Aided Low-Intensity Conflict read more
Volume:33
Issue:3
Commentaries

A decade after the Kargil conflict and over seven years after the major Indian military mobilization along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, both countries were yet again on the verge of a military confrontation following the revelation of Pakistan’s complicity in the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008. Islamabad’s recalcitrance in taking action against groups responsible for this attack forced New Delhi to plan punitive responses against terror camps within Pakistan, prompting the latter to mobilize troops and project a capability to repulse an Indian attack. After weeks of underdone posturing, both countries realized the possibility of a stalemate and de-escalated the conflict.

Keywords: India, Pakistan