Meengla
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- Jul 31, 2009
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Bolded Part: I don't know. There are Pakistanis here who are more into hardware. But Pakistanis are not cowards unlike Israelis, and Pakistan has a very large Army. Twice Pakistani security forces cleaned up the Afghan Taliban: First in Swat Valley and then in the Tribal Areas. Those were very difficult combat situations if you look at the terrain--far more difficult than Gaza and more difficult than southern Lebanon. Plus Pakistan also has a very good air force and air defense systems and Pakistani pilots are among the best in the world. I believe only Turkey and Pakistan has the right balance of military capabilities to confront Israel One-on-One.
Here is a recent account by the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Mian Kasuri, who served under President Musharraf during the early/mid 2000s. He was seen as shaking the hand of the Israeli FM in a pic those days. There was a lot of criticism of that. Later it was disclosed the purpose was dual: To dull the Israeli Lobby to not work too much for the Indians by assuring that Pakistan was not actively working against Israel. Secondly: Kasuri told the Israelis that if you continue to supply India sophisticated weaponry then do know that we too have very lethal weapons which we could supply to YOUR enemies!
PS. I don't think Pakistanis are particularly a great military due to some inherent reasons. It is just that the need to confront a much powerful enemy India had forced Pakistan to become one. Plus, due to the considerable distance from Israel, Pakistan was allowed, even supported, by the West to become strong military. Even the nuclear program was overlooked, largely due to the Soviet-Afghan war but, by 1979, Pakistan was already on-course to become a nuclear power.
