You paint a very rosy picture. But how many rosy pre-war pictures ever turn out that way? Lets give some thought to the costs and possible responses.
That is a lot of ground to cover with air power, especially with hostile forces underneath. I don't know what the Pakistani anit-air ablities were then, but I do know they would increase rapidly, with corresponding increases in losses for the Soviets.
How much normal traffic is there to hide among?
Air power is not going to disintegrate Pakistani society. And with this escalation would come counter-escalations in support from the US. I suspect their would be a lot a US naval activity in the India Ocean.
And what is Pakistan going to do about this? Most, obvious response to me, is to imitate the North Vietnamese. Train Pakistani regulars as guerillas and send then accross the border, with Afgani guides.
The scale of the problem for the Soviet Union just increased by hundreds of percents.
Yes, I am aware of that. However, there are several factors we did not consider yet:
1. Distances. Most mujahedeen power-base regions in Afghanistan are within 150 km from Durand Line as crow flies. Peshawar to Karachi is 1100 km as crow flies. Distance increases eightfold, losses increase eightfold, at first glance.
That is a lot of ground to cover with air power, especially with hostile forces underneath. I don't know what the Pakistani anit-air ablities were then, but I do know they would increase rapidly, with corresponding increases in losses for the Soviets.
2. Terrain. Mujahedeen power-base regions are mountains. Afghan flatlands (generally Northern part of the country) was not all chummy with Soviets, but were infinitely less infested by guerillas (probably owing to logistical difficulties as much as to differences in tribal composition, valley folks not being Pushtun). And guess what? Pakistan turns into flatlands pretty fast as you go South from Peshawar. Try to hide caravans on flatlands once every rivercraft and every group of trucks becomes fair game for Tac Air (as it was in Laos).
How much normal traffic is there to hide among?
3. Politics (briefly mentioned before). Afghan society could allow itself to disintegrate and devote all it's resources to battle Soviet invasion. Pakistan is next door to India, which still considers the very existence of "The land of pure" the greatest insult and injustice inflicted on the Subcontinent by colonizers. Can it wage the war with world and regional superpowers at the same time?
Air power is not going to disintegrate Pakistani society. And with this escalation would come counter-escalations in support from the US. I suspect their would be a lot a US naval activity in the India Ocean.
And what is Pakistan going to do about this? Most, obvious response to me, is to imitate the North Vietnamese. Train Pakistani regulars as guerillas and send then accross the border, with Afgani guides.
The scale of the problem for the Soviet Union just increased by hundreds of percents.