00:00Today I have with me Lieutenant General Syed Atta Hasnen. He is a very prominent commentator
00:06on national security issues, especially when it comes to India-Pakistan relations. He is
00:11currently the Chancellor at the Central University of Kashmir and today we have connected with him
00:16to speak on a very important issue, the Sir Creek issue. It has become a renewed flashpoint between
00:21India and Pakistan General. This is something which has always remained a disputed, a contested
00:26territory. Intelligence reports suggested that there is a military build-up around this
00:31region. Now this region is very strategically important because if Pakistan gains more control
00:36to this area, it will become a launchpad for Pakistan to attack India, not only militarily
00:41but also in terms of cross-border terrorism. How important do you think this region is,
00:46both security-wise and economically as well? First of all, thank you for inviting me for
00:52your program. Yes, you are absolutely correct in identifying the Sir Creek issue as a very
00:58important strategic issue for India's national security. Having said that, there are two angles
01:04to it which you have yourself identified. First, the economic angle. Any territory lost or even
01:12the territory which is supposedly, which is under our control at the moment, if we don't look
01:17after that territory, there is always the danger of the exclusive economic zone which is linked
01:26to that territory and the control of that territory going away from under our influence and our capability
01:32to defend it. That's an important thing because it is a huge area for fisheries, for undersea
01:39minerals and for shipping in general. So, this has its own economic connotations. But more than that,
01:47even more than that, is the security aspect. You see, this is a broken area. When we say broken,
01:54it means the terrain is very difficult. It's crisscrossed by all kinds of rivulets which keep
02:00course based upon the tight tidal patterns. It's an estuary basically and which has got a couple of channels
02:08which are coming in. Pakistan, of course, has extended its claim to a certain area, the eastern part of
02:16that area, to say that that entire area, it belongs to it. While India follows the international principle
02:22of any disputed territory, then it is involved especially waterways. It is always the mid-course
02:29of the current that determines what the territorial division is. Pakistan does not believe that.
02:37So, it seems that the geopolitical environment which is existing at the moment in the Indian
02:45subcontinent is the issue which has brought the Sur Creek problem into prominence at the moment.
02:53Pakistan has found a newfound strategic importance in the international community based upon President
03:00Trump's sudden love for Pakistan, so to say. And whatever he has against India seems rather
03:09peeved about it and it seems that we will have to live with this during his presidency. I, for
03:15one, initially did perceive that this was a temporary aberration but it seems that we got to live
03:20with it. Now, with Pakistan having found such favour, it seems that Pakistan is attempting to test the
03:27waters. It's not necessary that they may do anything particular here but just by carrying out certain
03:34overtures like building up your infrastructure or moving some troops into that area, they are testing our
03:39responses to see what is the possible way that India is going to respond. And they are also looking
03:46for international backing in potentially a small action which may lead to the US back in Pakistan.
03:53So, this is a kind of a testing of the waters of the strategic environment at the moment.
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