Vinod2070
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I totally agree with you. But I think that even if we become friends, neither country will reduce any part of their Armed Forces. I personally think that it is just too late, I mean we could be friends and I do believe we ought to live in peace but I dont believe the Armed Forces of neither country will be reduced. The reason is that Pakistan and its people know that India is not the only enemy we have, we know that their are a lot of enemies of Pakistan, some of whom just pretend to be our friends. We take great pride in our Armed Forces, we have given a lot of sacrifices for these Forces. India might have similar reasons, but India's Armed Forces are an internal matter of India and Not of a Pakistani or any other person to discuss.
Yes, India and Pakistan need to decide what works for them and what is their respective defence needs. I just feel that if we are not so obsessed with each other, the defence spending pattern would be much different and much more effective against other possible adversaries that we may have.
I agree that at least for India, the Pakistan factor would not effect the defence spending which is anyway not high at 2.3% of GDP by global or regional standards. But it would change what systems India invests in. For Pakistan, your country would know best what the optimal size and pattern of your military would be, if you did not feel threatened by Indian intentions and capabilities.
I remember reading a Pakistani writers article about how this mutual obsession is resulting in so much investment in tanks for example, which are only useful in an India-Pakistan context.
And the biggest factor is, where is so much military investment leading to? I doubt that Pakistan can sustain any aggressive posture towards India now given the huge asymmetry in size and economy. So Pakistan per force will need to maintain a defensive posture. And I personally don't see any offensive territorial or strategic interests for India towards her North-West. We would like the status-quo to persist. Could it be that we are carrying on the hostile legacy bequeathed in their infinite wisdom by our ancestors, whose time is long over.
Anyway these are my 2 cents. I am quite aware there are a large number of people on both sides who don't agree with me.