By Pierre Tran

Paris – An Indian all-party parliamentary delegation led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, a former law and justice minister, met the French and foreign press May 27, as part of New Delhi’s bid  to rally political and media support in a long standing conflict with Pakistan.

Those nine members of the lower and upper houses made up one of the seven delegations taking India’s message around the world, following the April 22 “terror attack” on civilians, the Indian ambassador, Sanjeev Singla, said in opening remarks.

The killing of those civilians “in the name of religion,” signalled “the menace of terrorism that emanates from Pakistan,” the senior diplomat said.

Pakistan has denied any involvement in that April attack, and called for an independent inquiry.

The high-level delegation declined to give a clear denial on whether Pakistan had downed an Indian air force Rafale fighter, while emphasising the safe return of Indian pilots after a May 6/7 night attack, striking military bases in Pakistan.

Reports from Pakistan on downing a Rafale should be taken with “a pinch of salt,” Prasad said.

Pakistan has claimed hitting the fighter built by Dassault Aviation, along with downing  Sukhoi and MiG fighters, all flown by the Indian air force on that attack against the bases. Media reports have pointed up Pakistan pilots flew the Chinese-built J-10 fighter and fired a Chinese-built long-range, air-to-air PL-15 missile, while Indian authorities have urged caution on the claims from Islamabad.

“That is operational information that will be shared, however there is an assertion without evidence,” member of parliament Priyanka Chaturvedi said. “What we have categorically said is our mission has been accomplished with regards to operations. Our pilots are back home and they’re safe,” she said.

Prasad said, “All this evidence has come from where? From Pakistan. That is our charge.

“Has any independent, verifiable evidence about the loss of Rafale come? I would urge you to take any evidence coming from Pakistan with a pinch of salt,” he said.

None of the Indian aircraft had entered Pakistan airspace, he said, and no Pakistani missile had crossed the border into India. India had a “very strong air defense system.” he said. India could also block “their air defense system.”

Possible Threats

Pakistan flies the Chinese-built JF-17 alongside the J-10 fighter, armed with the PL-15, a long-range missile.

A French source said Pakistan’s air defense included the HQ-9, a Chinese-built surface-to-air missile based on the Russian S300 weapon.

There was concern of escalation, with “huge tension,” the contact said one day before Islamabad and New Delhi agreed May 10 to a ceasefire. “Things could get worse,” which meant the loss of a Rafale was of lesser importance.

There was in 2019 a “frat kill,” the downing of an Indian air force helicopter, killing six Indian air force personnel and a civilian. An Indian officer fired the missile and shot down an Mi-17 helicopter, which led to a court martial and dismissal of the officer, The Tribune, an Indian daily, reported April 11 2023.

Strong Ties Between France and India

The Rafale was “good gear,” Prasad said. “That’s all we want to tell you.”

India and France has had strong ties since 1998, he said, and there was a strong relationship between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron.

The two nations signed in 1998 a strategic partnership agreement, which included cooperation in defense and security, civil nuclear power, and space. That pact has broadened since, to include cybersecurity, maritime security, and counter terrorism.

Asked about media reports India had requested local media to take down stories of the reported loss of the Rafale, Prasad said there were 724 domestic media outlets in English, Hindi, and local languages. That was a sign of Indian democracy, he said.

The reports of government censorship were “unfounded,” he said.

Asked about French media reports India was looking to order a further batch of 114 fighters, Prasad said there was India’s strategic partnership with France, and a “whole big horizon,” with the two nations working as partners not just on “defense gear” but other areas.

“India as a sovereign country is entitled to reinforce its weaponry systems,” he said, adding that India has become the fourth economy in the world, larger than France and England.

“That is what Indian economic might is,” he said.

The Rafale F4 was considered to be the “frontrunner” for India’s competition for 114 fighters under the air force’s multi-role fighter aircraft program, a French website, Avions Legendaires, reported May 24. There were tough negotiations on India’s request for source code to arm the Rafale with Indian-built weapons, including Astra air-to-air and Rudram air-to-ground missiles, and Sudarshan laser-guided bomb.

India has ordered 26 carrier-based Rafale for the navy, which followed a 36-strong order of the fighter for the air force. Those previous orders made the French-built jets the preferred pick, the French website reported.

The other candidates included the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II, Lockheed Martin F-21A Viper, Saab JAS 39E/F Gripen, and Sukhoi Su-57E Felon-B.

India’s No First Strike

Much reporting in those four days in May of combat referred to India and Pakistan as nuclear-capable nations, pointing up the high risk involved.

Parliamentarian MJ Akbar told the French and foreign press he would preempt any question on the use of nuclear weapons, saying India has a very clear doctrine, namely “no first use.”

“Pakistan has no such doctrine,” he said.

India’s no first strike policy carried the implicit sense that if another country did use the nuclear weapon first, “there are no commitments on our response,” he said. “However, we will not use the ultimate weapon of our own volition.”

“In the recent confrontation, we were never close to any nuclear confrontation,” he said.

The rising temperature in New Delhi could be seen with Reuters reporting May 27 India’s  defense minister approving the “framework” for building an advanced stealth fighter, with the Aeronautical Development Agency expected to seek initial interest from industry to build a prototype of a twin-engine, fifth-generation fighter.

Pakistan as a Former Client Nation

Pakistan has been a client nation for French weapons, having been an early export customer of the Daphne submarine in the mid-1960s, built by the Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN), since renamed Naval Group.

Pakistan went on to order three Agosta 90B boats, dubbed the Khalid class, in the mid-1990s. A French naval export company, Amaris, pitched in 2008 the Marlin boat in Pakistan’s competition for three diesel-electric submarines. That Marlin was based on the Franco-Spanish Scorpene boat, and included MBDA Exocet SM39 missiles. That deal did not go through.

The Pakistan air force flew French-built Mirage III and V fighters.

Meanwhile, France has sold six Scorpene boats to India, and New Delhi is expected to order three more units. Indian has effectively two air forces, one of Russian-built fighters, the other French-built, reflecting the days of its non-alignment in the Cold War. The French-built fighters include the Mirage 2000 and Rafale, and the air force seeks to replace the Sepecat Jaguar.

Conflict Story

There has been a history of armed conflict between India and Pakistan since the two nations won independence from the British Empire. The neighbouring states fought four wars after the partition of India in 1947, with conflicts in 1948, 1965, 1971 – which saw the creation of Bangladesh – and 1999, with the latter dubbed the Kargil War.

The delegation met French parliamentarians on its visit here. The MPs were due to fly on  Rome, Copenhagen, London, Brussels, and Berlin.

Pakistan is mainly a Muslim nation with a government seen as heavily swayed by the military.

India is a secular democracy, which has seen the rise of the BJP party, which promotes a Hindu nationalist approach.

The Indian government presented in April a bill to parliament seeking to change the management of large tracts of land set aside for Muslim use, seen likely to raise tension between the administration and the Muslim minority community, Reuters reported.

Modi’s campaign for election last year drew accusations of anti-Muslim sentiment when he referred to Muslims as “infiltrators,” who have “more children,” the news agency reported.

Islamist militants had been working from what the Indian ambassador said were “terrorist infrastructure” bases in Pakistan.

Those irregular fighters on April 22 killed some 26 tourists, and a local person at Pahalgam, a beauty spot in the Indian part of the Kashmir region in the Himalayas.

India retaliated on the night of May 6/7, launching attacks against some nine sites in Pakistan, leading to renewed conflict between the two states.

Islamabad and New Delhi agreed May 10 to a ceasefire.

Featured image was created by an. AI program.