Modi likely to use 'military force' if terror attack traced to Pakistan: former US diplomat

Says Indian public sentiments have changed and military response can be used by incumbent premier


Web Desk February 07, 2015
Robert Blackwill. PHOTO: Samuel LaHoz/Intelligence Squared US

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to use 'military force' if the next terrorist attack in India is traced back to Pakistan, a former top US diplomat warned,  according to the Economic Times.

“Every Indian prime minister, since the attack on the parliament in Delhi 15 years ago, has seriously considered a military response to such incidents but stepped back,” Former US Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill told reporters during a conference call organised by think-tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). “I believe sentiments inside India have changed substantially and I think the incumbent premier, Narendra Modi,  is unlikely to step back.”

“If there is a major terror bid, links to which are found in Pakistan, I think the India prime minister is likely to use military force. It is not a certainty, though,” Blackwill said.

The former diplomat, who is also known to be a keen observer of South Asian affairs, said Modi’s predecessors have been briefed by the Indian military but never went forward on their advice. This, he said, may change given that Modi’s personality is different from previous Indian head of states and that the public opinion in the country has also changed.

Stephen Cohen, senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institute, agreed with the former diplomat that Prime Minister Modi’s response to a terrorist attack emanating from Pakistan would be different from his predecessors.

“If there was another Mumbai attack-like offensive, which I do not think is likely to happen, the Indian response may be different,” Cohen said.

COMMENTS (72)

zara | 9 years ago | Reply @Salim Haider: Haha, and then you woke up from your dream. Loser lolz
Salim Haider | 9 years ago | Reply India will attach Pakistan - but not in the traditional way. Pakistan is already a dying country - no growth, no money, no hope, no peace, no security. All it does is buy more guns, planes, bombs and soldiers. It is not a real country - it is a military empire. Like North Korea. That will not work - in the long term, it will collapse and fail. What India will do is conduct surgical strikes without providing any reason to go to a full scale military offensive. It will blockade Karachi Port. Pakistan is so weak as an economy, that it cannot withstand an oil or port blockade. It will have no choice but to surrender. No nuclear weapons will be used by either side. That's a guarantee. China WILL NOT come to Pakistan's help - that's a fool's hope for Pakistan. Pakistan offers nothing to China. India is a huge value for them to sell their goods, to maintain as a friendly neighbor. China knows that India will be the world's third superpower (China, US and India) in that order economically and militarily. They see no value in Pakistan. The US will definitely not help - they don't trust anyone in Pakistan. As the US Congressman recently said "Pakistanis are two-timing liars, thieves and double-crossers - we need to migrate rapidly and permanently towards India."
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