"Cold Start Doctrine" announced in April 2004 by Government of India led by Bhartiya Janta Party at that time, is an operational plan devised by Indian army and designed to make a quick and limited invasion into Pakistani territory with the idea of punishing Pakistan to some extent without provoking a Nuclear Response. It is not a comprehensive invasion or occupation of Pakistan.
Cold Start is said to be formulated after the slow and drawn-out mobilization of Indian Army in 2002 in response to the attack on Parliament of India on 26 November 2001. It was seen that Indian Army has a lenghty process of mobilization which lacks strategic and operational flexibility which reduces the element of surprise. It was highly criticized by the politicians and public. This forced the planners of Indian Army to think of a plan like Cold Start.
Cold Start attack could begin within 72 hours after attack order has been given. It will be led by armored spearheads and launched from prepared forward positions in Punjab and Rajasthan. This plan depends on speed and overwhelming firepower. Armored tanks and infantry will invade the Eastern Pakistan with limited goals in term of distance and duration. It is also said that Indian Air Force also plays a part in the attack but its role is not clear yet.
A positive attribute of Cold Start from India's point of view is its 72-hour time frame which will shield the Government of India from international pressure to refrain from any military action in Pakistan. This was the major disadvantage faced by the Government during the 2002 due to late mobilization of army.
Though Cold Start has never been put into action on battlefield, whether Government of India actually wants to implement it or not is an open question. Given the current resources and capabilities of Indian Army the collective judgment is that India is likely to face mixed results. Indian forces will face several logistical difficulties and might have problems during initial part due to slow reinforcement because of transportation problems via road and rail. This is where people think that Air Force will come into play but it will increase the cost of war exponentially. Further the increase in populated area near punjab and sindh border will hinder its swift and mobile advancement which is the main strength of this mission.
The immediate aftermath of 2008 Mumbai attack was that the Government of India might give a heads-up to the Cold Start but it refrained from such an act. This poses two very important questions: (1) The government refrained from Cold Start, even after such an audacious and bloddy attack on Mumbai, poses a serious question on Government's willingness to actually adopt such an strategy. (2) the Pakistanis have known about Cold Start since 2004, but this knowledge does not seem to have prompted them to prevent terror attacks against India. This fact calls into question Cold Start’s ability to deter Pakistani mischief inside India.
Taken together, these factors underline that the value of the doctrine to the Government Of India may lie more in the plan’s existence than in any real world application.
(Source: Wikileaks Cables and Newspaper Articles)
