India snatched defeat from jaws of victory: Top geostrategist on ceasefire with Pak

India "snatched defeat from the jaws of victory," said noted geostrategist Brahma Chellaney, reacting to the unexpected ceasefire announced between India and Pakistan on Saturday. Just hours earlier, fears of a full-blown war loomed large as Pakistani troops moved closer to the border and India remained on high alert. But by evening, a surprising calm had set in.Chellaney, voicing disappointment over the development, said India has failed to learn from history and is merely repeating past strategic errors.advertisement"The military movement was in India's favour. Pakistan's air defences proved to be much weaker than Pak had expected could see that from the rival drones. They were sending so many drones and missiles into India but not effectively. India, on the other hand, sent a limited number of missiles and drones and was able to hit its targets," Chellaney said.
He questioned the rationale behind India's decision to de-escalate despite holding a clear upper hand militarily."It underlines India's long political position of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory," he said, wondering why India decided to de-escalate. "Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory has become a repeating pattern. That is why India continues to repeat history. We never learn from history. So, history repeats itself," he said.advertisementChellaney compared the current situation to past instances where, in his view, India surrendered military or diplomatic leverage without gaining lasting strategic benefit."In 1972, we gave away our war gains onto the negotiating tables without securing anything in return from Pakistan. 2021, we vacated the strategic Kailash heights, forfeiting our only bargaining chip in negotiations, and then we agreed to Chinese-designed buffer zones in Ladakh areas and now Operation Sindoor," Chellaney said."Operating Sindoor had such a powerful symbolism of India's women avenging the murders of 26 husbands and yet today the way we ended this operation after Pakistan even fired a missile at Delhi leaves many questions unanswered," he said.'History will not look kindly upon India's decision today,' Chellaney added, calling the conclusion of Operation Sindoor a strategic and symbolic misstep that raises more questions than answers.The remarks come after India and Pakistan announced that they have agreed to a ceasefire after two days of strikes and counterstrikes. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Pakistan reached out to India, and the two countries negotiated directly and agreed to a ceasefire, the government said on Saturday, confirming the surprise truce after days of military escalation and heightened tensions between the neighbours.advertisement"The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of Pakistan called the DGMO of India at 15.30 hours (3.30 pm) this afternoon. It was agreed between them that both sides would cease all firing and military action on land, in the air, and at sea with effect from 1700 hours (5 pm)," he said.The announcement of the ceasefire came as a big surprise as it was only this morning that the Foreign Secretary, in a briefing, said that Pakistan was moving its troops to border areas and the Indian Armed Forces were on alert. The statement sparked fears of a further escalation from Pakistan's side, whose Defence Minister repeatedly made statements in the media confirming that a war was knocking on the doors.

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