As defense analysts, this question is a no-brainer. Our missiles are an essential component of our defense strategy and provide us with round-the-clock strategic capabilities to protect our sovereignty against all aggression from the outside. So, it is only natural that this vital capability is kept in tip-top shape and our soldiers are trained down to the second to execute the sophisticated series of actions required to use these systems. But, keeping in mind the recent controversy and propaganda against Pakistan testing its missiles from our eastern neighbor we will take a closer look at why we test these systems, why is it critical for Pakistan’s national security and strategic posturing, and why India wants us to stop.
For a country with a perpetual regional security threat like Pakistan, our missiles basically serve the sole purpose of delivery systems, i.e., they can deliver any type of weaponized payload over huge distances in a very short amount of time and deliver them accurately enough to whatever target we choose. In our country’s case, we rely on these marvels of engineering to provide us with Pakistan’s critical strategic capabilities which are the most essential tool for our security. They also assure the unimpeded defense of Pak Sarzameen, day in and day out. These machines are huge, highly complex and delicate pieces of technology that we absolutely must ensure work perfectly through the complicated series of events to activate them and are designed to the last nut-and-bolt to strike assuredly into the heart of our enemies if our country and way of life is under threat on the darkest day our nation will ever see.
Obviously with the consequences associated with an Indian aggression warranting a strategic response, we pray that day never comes but we must also always remember to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst in line with the age-old military proverb, Si vis pacem, para bellum (If you want peace, prepare for war), especially considering the ever-increasing trends of aggression and threats at the highest level of the Indian state in the strategic stability paradigm of South Asia. These missiles are our last and only assured line of defense, and will one day act as such which is why we must ensure the nation’s enemies see the might of our of strategic capabilities and that they work as perfectly as possible; and as they say “practice makes perfect”. Which is why periodically our strategic forces test these weapon systems to gather data, to train the soldiers that will one day operate them, to verify their accuracy and range and to make sure they will work as required when we need them most. It is absolutely essential we keep on testing these missiles for two main reasons, the first one we have outlined above and the second one is to send a strong and resolute message of deterrence, of strength, of resolve to our enemies. We have been observing for many years how at every major missile capability test in the last 5 years, there has sprung a coordinated print, TV, and social media propaganda campaign from the other side of the border against these tests. This manifested most strongly in 2018 and 2017 when almost the entirety of Indian media simultaneously claimed the Babur III SLCM launch that occurred had not been successful and the video of the launch had been doctored. They only stopped their lies when multiple experts from the international media disputed their fake claims to their faces. Similarly, just a week ago in 2021 when Pakistan tested ballistic missile Shaheen-III we again saw a coordinated social media campaign originating from India where they first spread fake news and started propaganda that the missile had failed and when this was not successful then they said the “warhead” had exploded in Balochistan, both claims equally ridiculous. This is part of a coordinated effort by the Indians to create a sense of mistrust in the regional community regarding our strategic capabilities. Any student of strategy recognizes that this is a very dangerous action, seriously destabilizing strategic stability as India tries to change the status quo after it is extremely humiliating defeat in the Pakistan-India clashes of 2019. We must not allow this to happen. Our missiles need to be tested so that we can accurately evaluate the various systems being developed for the three services of our armed forces. Numerous subsystems need to be thoroughly tested before being operationalized including the guidance and navigation units, software, flight systems, reentry vehicle(s), solid or liquid fuel, communication systems, rocket motors and several hundred other things. Testing also provides the added usage of invaluable training to the soldiers and simulates real-world scenarios where this capability will be used. So, with keeping in mind the severely critical nature of this capability, we must hone it perfectly with no space for errors so that it is used as intended, when intended. It is obvious India would try their best to stop us from doing this, but we believe that we as a nation can rise above such petty and pathetic attempts to malign our strategic capability’s reputation in our own country and beyond.
We are a peace-loving nation, that is our stated policy. We do not wish for conflict, and this is evident in our many ignored peace overtures in 2018. The Indians, unfortunately for all of us in South Asia, chose a belligerent regime to lead them that saw these peace overtures as a sign of weakness rather than as sign of statesmanship and a mature, responsible nation. If they decide to walk down the path of threatening Pakistan, we will feed our enemies with fire and fury, and all the time we will also try to diffuse the situation like all responsible nations should do. The Indians, for their part, must remember: if you play stupid games, you will win stupid prizes.
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