Flash Point

[Aaaaasima]

The nuclear bomb has to be the most powerful weapon made in the history of the world. First tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16th, 1945, was the first time this power was seen, and less than a month later a nuclear weapon was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan and Nagasaki, Japan during World War II. The nuclear bombings of of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is considered to this to be one of the reasons Japan surrendered, and as such ended World War II. The nuclear bombings showed the world what new dangerous weapon was brought into existence. Indeed, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were mostly desolate following the nuclear bombings of those cities.

For the next 46 years the Cold War, a name given to the state of geopolitical tensions between the US and their allies against the USSR and their allies, happened. Ever since the Soviets tested their own bomb in 1949, the world was left in fear of a nuclear war, and indeed that did almost happen: In 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, in 1973 during the Yom Kippur war and in 1983 during the Able Archer crisis. Thankfully, fears of a nuclear war were unfounded.

However, as chances of a global nuclear war were dying down, chances (and fears) of a regional nuclear war were rising. India and Pakistan have been enemies due to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. When both countries were made independent, princely states of the subcontinent, which kept their positions due to British help, had to accede to either of the two, or decide to become independent. Most states acceded, but the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh, wanted to be independent. However, it was pretty clear that if Jammu and Kashmir could not remain independent it would become a part of India. Liaquat Ali Khan, prime minister of Pakistan of the time, said “ If, God forbid, Pakistan does not act, Kashmir might be theirs”. This set the ball rolling in Pakistan. Pakistan began to prepare, and Nehru, seeing a dispute might happened decided that a plebiscite must be held, and the Pakistani government agreed (it is even said that Liaquat Ali Khan’s eyes “sparkled” at the proposal). However, an incident in Poonch and Mirpur occurred between Hari Singh’s Dogra forces and Muslim rebels supported by Pakistan. News of the incident was exaggerated, but Hari Singh acceded to India in response. This led to the 1947 Indo-Pakistani war, which ended in a ceasefire, but it ended with India and Pakistan becoming enemies.

In 1974, three years after India won a war against Pakistan which led to the independence of Bangladesh, India tested their first nuclear weapon in Rajasthan. The weapon, which was claimed by India to be a “peaceful” blast, was actually tested for two reasons: To compete with China, a nuclear-armed state which has territorial disputes with India, and two, to scare Pakistan. The Indian nuclear test, however, set the ball rolling for Pakistan, and nothing, short of ethnic civil war like in Yugoslavia, could stop their nuclear program.

On May 28th, 1998, Pakistan tested their first nuclear weapon in the mountains of Balochistan. This brought them into the nuclear community, yet also brought upon sanctions. The test was made in response to Indian tests made two weeks ago.

With two enemies having nuclear weapons, fears of a nuclear war sprung up again. Many people started believing that a nuclear war was inevitable, and about what would happen if that would be the case. It appears that time would tell.

---

Aren't you making another TL?

Got writer's block, and the idea came to me and I decided to just get it done with.

You have been making plans for your TL for a month, when are you going to finish?

Be patient. It would come soon.

When?

Maybe later this month, or December...

...Or 2018, or 2019

Come on man

Fine, let's see how your TL goes. I expect you to make the TL you have been working on for a month by December.

Fine

 

[Aaaaasima]

After the 1997 Pakistani election, which ended in a landslide for Nawaz Sharif and his Muslim League (N), and after Youm-e-Takbir, a celebration held on the 28th of May to commemorate Pakistan’s nuclear tests held until 2000, it appears that Nawaz Sharif’s ego was inflated. After disagreements with Chief of Army Staff Jehangir Karamat in October of 1998, Nawaz Sharif was prepared to dismiss him, and if he did it would be the first in the 51 years of Pakistan’s independence.

Karamat had made an abrupt trip to Ankara to meet with Turkey’s president, Suleyman Demirel a week ago, in which he strongly criticized Nawaz Sharif’s military policies, and stressed the recreation of the National Security Council. This was the last straw, and Nawaz Sharif made efforts to replace him upon hearing of what Karamat had said. Upon hearing of Sharif’s decision to replace him with Mahmud Ahmed, Karamat, who was already flying back from Ankara thought long and hard about whether or not to commit a coup d’etat against Nawaz Sharif. It was done before, but Karamat simply did not have the confidence of Ayub or Zia in his generals. When he finally decided he should, local military commanders were already beginning to mobilize troops and begin to put Nawaz Sharif under house arrest. Karamat’s flight was delayed and Nawaz Sharif, in a last ditch effort, made attempts to redirect Karamat’s flight to India. But soldiers took control of the airplane control tower in Karachi International Airport, ending any chance of that happening. Sharif was forced to resign, and Jehangir Karamat declared himself Chief Martial Law Administrator, suspended the constitution, and made himself Chief Executive of Pakistan (Karamat was planning to make himself president sometime in 1999 or 2000. That time never came).

A couple days after the coup, Karamat attended a public press conference to reporters outside. Karamat was shot by a disgruntled PML-N party worker, and he was rushed to the hospital. Pakistan looked in bated breath whether or not other generals would take the chance to overthrow Karamat and declare themselves President. Thankfully, that never happened, and after a few days Karamat was released from the hospital. But something changed in Karamat that day, something nobody could understand. Maybe it was trauma from the shooting, but the anger and irrationality of Karamat which he had from the day he was released from the hospital never changed. Karamat was not the cautious man who took an hour to decide whether or not to launch a military coup, now he was a man with a quick temper who never thought twice about making a decision. Whatever the case, plans for generals to overthrow him and declare him mentally unfit to remain president were already being made, but arguments over who would take over, what would the plan be and even about the possibility of the plan ever succeeding delayed any prospective coup.

Such plans were scrapped following a skirmish in the Kargil district which ended in five Indian soldiers being killed on May 13th, 1999.