Fenix (35 page)

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H
Ussein’s plans were taking shape on the world stage through the media. Images released by the government of Pakistan via their embassies in the United States, the UK and over the social media showed up-close-and-personal images of the nuclear detonation in Lahore. The enveloping mushroom cloud bought back recollection of a similar event over Mumbai just over a month ago. And as there, Islamabad was quick to point out the human tragedy that was just unfolding. Islamabad released a press note stating that an Indian nuclear warhead had been detonated over Lahore and civilians in the city had suffered staggering casualties.

In the media, the Pakistani foreign-office spokeswoman refused to state the military situation in the city. She also reiterated that Pakistan would not be on the receiving end of nuclear terrorism by India and reserved the right to use its own weapons in self-defense. When asked about India’s ‘no-first-use’ policy on nuclear weapons, the spokesman stated in thinly veiled anger to “ask the citizens of Lahore who’s families and livelihood has just been destroyed by Indian nuclear aggression”.

              With official government websites and media remaining hacked for a second week, the Pakistani government accused the Indian military’s cyber-warfare command for causing the breakdown in essential government communications to its citizens, leading to social chaos and anarchy.

And the Indian media became unwitting proponents of the Pakistani plan as they lead the charge against New Delhi for what they called a “war of aggression” against a “misguided” neighbor. Protests in New-Delhi against “India’s war” turned violent as protesters clashed with nationalists in the streets. Riot police resorted to the use of rubber bullets and tear gas as similar protests spread to other cities.

              The Pakistani ambassador in Washington D.C. stated that the nuclear strike on Lahore was India’s way of “reaping revenge” against innocent civilians in Pakistan to cover up New-Delhi’s failure in apprehending the real culprits. He also added that an attack such as the one in Lahore would “not go unanswered”. He asked New-Delhi to put an end to this ceaseless violence and pull back its forces across the international border and denied to respond to questions from the media on whether this attack on Lahore would lead to a nuclear counter-response from Pakistan. He said that since New-Delhi had “triggered the nuclear option”, Islamabad could not be held responsible if it felt it had to do the same to protect itself…

“A
s I have stated previously, the notion that
we
had anything to do with the nuclear detonation in Lahore is ludicrous!” Ravoof repeated for what he felt was the hundredth time in this press conference. “The Indian armed-forces had
nothing
to do with the attack. We can only presume that the explosion in Lahore was done by the same individuals who carried out the attack on Mumbai. The patterns are the same and so are the radiological signatures. Let me make this very clear:” he paused for effect, “this was
not
an Indian bomb. Period.”

              He looked around to see the faces of the massed media personnel and cameras pointed to him and hoped that his body language was convincing. It had to be. Any indication of doubt on such a stage would take a life of their own. He did not want to get into a shouting contest with Pakistan with accusations and counter-accusations in spite of the facts.

              “Yes.” He pointed to a raised hand from the journalists. It was one of the western correspondents.

              “Can you comment on the rumors that India has carried out this nuclear attack in response to the massive resistance its forces have been encountering from the jihadists and the Pakistani army inside Lahore?”

              Ravoof shook his head and tried to control his anger. Some in the western media were running with Islamabad’s version of events. “I have
no
comments on the military situation in Lahore. I doubt our military press conference in an hour will have anything else to add either. But as far as India is concerned, I should remind you that we have taken casualties in this explosion. The numbers are still rolling in and the list is long. So while self-infliction of wounds might be a strategy that Islamabad allows,
we
don’t do that. If this had been our handiwork, it would have been far more surgical, I assure you!”

              Ravoof chided himself internally for that last remark. His tongue had slipped due to anger bubbling inside. Some in the media were out like ravenous wolves looking to implicate the “big-bad-neighbor” India. The Pakistanis were masters of lying through their teeth on the world stage. India wasn’t
nearly
as good as them. The smile at the corner of the western correspondent confirmed to Ravoof that his mistake had been caught…

              “Next question.” Ravoof said, trying to move on. But the damage was done. The hands in the room raised in a flurry. He picked one at random. An Indian journalist this time: “what is the Indian government’s stand on withdrawing its forces back across the border, as Islamabad has demanded?”

              “We will
not
respond to threats!” Ravoof stated flatly. “Our objectives are clear. The Pakistani military under the leadership of General Hussein has taken the onus of harboring and protecting the terrorists who struck Mumbai. They armed them with nuclear weapons to wreak carnage on a civilian population. They
will
be made to regret this decision. Our forces
will
destroy Pakistan’s ability to harbor terrorists as instruments of state policy. We are not after land or territorial gains here. But we
will
destroy Pakistan’s military threat. If the Pakistanis want to prevent this, they need to hand over the remaining survivors of the group that planned and executed the attack on Mumbai. We know the senior
ISI
commanders who were involved. Unless they are handed over to face trials for nuclear-terrorism and murder of innocent civilians, there is
nothing
left to say to us that will get us to back off from achieving our objectives our own way.”

──── 40
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“R
hino-alpha tanks! We are pushing on, on my mark!”

Kulkarni changed comms to his own tank: “ready?”

              The driver chimed back: “ready, sir.”

              “Then push on!”

              The Arjun jerked and moved out of its position by the side of the road. It pitched up as it crushed over some abandoned civilian cars and then landed back on the road. Kulkarni was holding on to the rails through all this. Once they stabilized, he pulled up rhino comms again: “rhino-alpha tanks:
execute!
Bash on to the highway!”

              He checked his sights and rotated it a full circle to see other tanks behind him taking position in the convoy on the road, merging in one behind the other to form a long line of tanks and other vehicles, moving west like a snake.

              Kulkarni would have liked to spread the tanks out over a wider front than this road, but in this urban environment, the terrain prevented it. One thing was sure: they could
not
wait for the battle in Rahim Yar Khan to end before pushing on to the
N5
highway, west of the town.

They were out of time.

The nuclear threat had materialized on the Punjab front with the detonation in Lahore. It was only a matter of time before it might happen here. And Kulkarni wanted to reach his pre-war objectives before the Pakistanis sapped his strength with nuclear weapons. He wanted his tanks straddling the highway to remind the enemy that this strategic lifeline had been cut by the Indians.

              Kulkarni and Sudarshan also hoped that keeping the residual enemy forces inside the town in close proximity would force the enemy to refrain from nuclear warheads. Pak army units
inside
the town could not challenge Kulkarni’s heavy armor
west
of it, but they served as useful hostages to help prevent any nuclear strikes on rhino and trishul.

             
In theory.
Kulkarni reminded himself.

              His tanks were now operating in
NBC
conditions. The tank’s crew compartments were sealed and all radiological and chemical sensors were active and running. The turret was also now operating at a positive air pressure to prevent outside particulates from entering. His turret would remain closed now until the war was over.

              A loud, cyclic
whump
noises overhead increased and then decreased. Kulkarni peered through his sights to see three air-force Apaches flying past them as they swept ahead of his columns. These would act both as recon as well as anti-armor assets in the battles to come.

              “Those air-force boys are having a fine day!” His gunner responded. Kulkarni could make out a tint of jealousy in the man’s voice. That brought an increasingly-rare smile on his face, but he kept his peace. So the gunner continued for the benefit of the other crewmembers: “they take out the fun targets and leave us to sort through the shit for nuggets!”

              Kulkarni knew this to be partly true. The Apaches had gone hunting for enemy T-80s inside Rahim Yar Khan. They had encountered
severe
anti-air gunfire and two Apaches had been destroyed. So now the air-force had changed tactics. The Apaches were streaming far and wide over the open terrain west, north and south of the town, striking enemy rear columns and inbound convoys while the air-force’s strike aircraft went above the town looking for hiding enemy tanks.

              “I can’t complain,” the loader added sheepishly. Kulkarni thought his voice had an innocent honesty to it.

              The gunner conceded: “neither can I.”

              And neither could Kulkarni. As overall rhino commander, he appreciated
any
help that was given to him by sister units and services. Even the air-force, he admitted to himself, as though the impossible had happened. But now that his own tanks were depleted from combat attrition and half his remaining force was bogged down besieging the town, the actual force he was leading to the highway numbered no more than twenty tanks and about two dozen supporting vehicles from trishul…

              He realized if someone had offered him
this
force strength to hold the strategic target prior to the war, he would have questioned the competency of the officer involved. But here he was, trying to pull it off.
Of course!
            

              “Approaching the objective!” The driver said.

Kulkarni spotted it through his sights almost at the same time as they cleared around some mud houses and headed to the highway.

              The gunner’s response was instantaneous: “
shit!
”

              Kulkarni had to agree. The highway was clogged with civilian vehicles and massive numbers of civilians, making their way away from approaching Indian forces…

              The civilians saw the approaching Indian tanks at about the same time and a panic spread through the crowd. Rumors had been spread by the jihadists that the Indians were massacring civilians and that nobody was safe. Kulkarni had heard this report from military-intelligence folks an hour ago. It was a recruiting tool for the jihadists, plain and simple. The Jihadists -and the Pak army- were saying to the able-bodied men and women in the town to join the jihad to protect their families from certain death.

              The net result of that was massive chaos and panic all along the highway as Kulkarni’s tank convoy began spreading out on their approach. The tank turrets were sweeping left and right for possible targets in the mass of people in front of them. He saw as people abandoned their belongings and vehicles on the jammed highway and ran. He also saw what looked like television media vehicles parked a kilometer north on the highway, stuck in traffic…

              “All Rhino-alpha tanks,” Kulkarni keyed his comms, “watch for enemy combatants within the crowds here. Destroy what targets present themselves, but for
god’s
sake don’t shoot civilians. The media is filming the whole thing!”

              His tank shuddered to a halt about thirty meters from the concrete of the highway.  

              “Driver, why are we halted?”

“Sir the road is clogged with vehicles.”

              Kulkarni cocked an eyebrow: “so?
Crush
them! No better way to block this road than to have crushed vehicles and a sixty-ton tank sitting on them!”

              “Uh…copy! Hang on.”

              The vehicle rumbled forward and accelerated towards the empty cars on the highway. The tank pitched up and then landed on the roof of a car with a massive crash, smashing the small sedan to pieces under its treads. Pieces of the car flew in all directions as the Arjun accelerated over it to the next vehicle. Kulkarni could only imagine the smile on the driver’s face up front. It was not every day that he got to do what he was doing now and had probably
wanted
to do for a long time.

              Kulkarni rotated his sights north and saw civilians running away. He even saw what looked like some soldiers removing their uniforms near a bus and changing into civilian clothes while being jeered by civilians nearby. Many youngsters were busy taking pictures on their cell phones as other Arjun tanks followed Kulkarni’s lead and smashed and crashed their way on to the highway. Kulkarni’s own tank rumbled to the other side of the highway and jerked to a stop. The gunner swiveled the turrets to look for Pak army or jihadist targets but found none.

              “Rhino-actual to steel-central. Over.”

              “Steel-central copies, Rhino-actual. Send traffic. Over.”

              “We are at waypoint
red
and have secured it. We are holding. Over.” Kulkarni was surprised at how anti-climactic this whole thing was. He might as well have been radioing in his food and water requirements…

              “
Good
job, rhino-actual. Steel-actual sends his regards. Secure objective and standby for further orders. Out.”.

              “What do we do now, sir?” The gunner asked casually.

              “Good question,” Kulkarni muttered. “I guess we hold this place until told otherwise. If you see any targets, you light them up, of course!”

              “Of course.”

              Kulkarni swiveled his sights and saw the other tanks also doing the same over a one-kilometer stretch of the highway. He pressed buttons on the
ABAMS
screen to pass movement orders to his commanders. He wanted to orient part of his force north and south, facing down the length of the highway while
his
platoon of tanks faced west into the desert, towards the Indus river. He saw the Apaches as they flew past the highway heading east. And to the north, the flash and rumble of artillery reached him. Sudarshan was busy hammering targets north and south of where rhino was.

              That made for a lonely and boring afternoon. This was bad for many reasons. Not least of which was that it gave the initiative to the enemy. It pushed rhino from being an initiator to a responder. It also strained his crews, who were wound up like a spring, ready to uncoil on the enemy. Now they had to sit and wait. And that could cause them to break. 

As the Tunguska anti-air vehicles moved into position around the highway, assorted engineering and recon troops began pulling up. Kulkarni saw explosions rocking the center of the town, behind him. He could hear the crackle of machine gun fire punctuating the air and tank rounds leaving their barrels. Swiveling his sights north, he caught sight of the media, two-kilometers away, talking in front of cameras pointed towards his tanks. He knew the Pak army commanders would be seeing all this. And the media would be reporting in short order that Indian armor forces had penetrated deep inside Pakistani territory and cut off the strategic
N5
highway, splitting the defenses along the border into two. These two segments could no longer communicate physically along this north-south highway. They would either have to fight
through
rhino or maneuver further west of the Indus river and skirt around this blockade, adding to already over-blocked roads and highways. The ball was now neatly in the other court. And the reality of it all would settle into the Pakistani minds soon enough.