Pakistan has a significant geo-political location. It has always played positive role at regional and global level. It has great importance among world power due to its geo-strategic location, nuclear capability, relation with rising super power-China and the initiation of CPEC. Hence, it is facing threats of latest generation warfare, waged by hostile intelligence agencies. The adversaries are waging this type of warfare against Pakistan to create chaos and uncertainty in the country and trying to disrupt internal security of the country with tools of hybrid warfare.
Since Pakistan has become nuclear power in year 1998, the enemies have been unable to launch any form of conventional battle against it. Hence, waging hybrid war against Pakistan has become a preferred strategy by adversaries. Addressing a ceremony marking Defense Day at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, General Bajwa stated Pakistan is facing many challenges aimed at discrediting the country and its defense forces “We are facing the challenge that has been imposed on us in the form of the fifth generation or hybrid war. Its purpose is to discredit the country and its defense forces and spread chaos”, he said. “We are well aware of this danger. We will surely succeed in winning this war with the cooperation of the nation” (Yasin, 2020). The enemies are trying hard to disrupt internal security of the country by using electronic, print and social media, NGOs disgruntled elements and other means as a tools of fifth generation warfare. Anti-Pakistan elements are engaged in inciting sectarianism in Pakistani society.
The last two decades witnessed rising trends of propaganda campaigns against Pakistan. Pakistan is being subjected to hybrid warfare through Non-Kinetic resources. India has formed nexus with Israel and US and influencing international media. Mearsheimer and Stephen explains that “pro‐Israel organizations work hard to influence the media, think tanks, and academia, because these institutions are critical in shaping popular opinion” (Mearsheimer & Walt, 2006). The media campaigns launched against Pakistan aim to distort its image at global level and destabilize it. India is enjoying its leverage over international media to build misperceptions against to Pakistan. Indeed India is pursuing its nefarious goals to damage Pakistan’s image at global level. India is trying to build perception that Pakistan is an unsafe place and sponsoring militancy in the region. An extensive Indian network of fake NGOs and think tanks was exposed in 2019 that was
found responsible for operating more than 200 fake news outlets to influence the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) to distort Pakistan’s image at global level (Machado, Alaphilippe, & Adamczyk, 2020).
Furthermore, the Indian and the international media associations are engaged in spreading negative propaganda, false news, misinformation, and unjustified criticism to build misperception about Pakistan to weaken its position in international community. The west and India are using all means including non-traditional and non-Kinetic resources to push Pakistan towards a difficult political and economic position. Realizing the fact of hybrid warfare challenges being faced by Pakistan, Army Chief Gen. Qamar Bajwa in 2018 stated that “We are now confronting hybrid conflict where focus is shifting to subversion on religious, sectarian, ethnic and social issues” (Maqbool, 2018).
Pakistan has always faced security challenges from the both borders—Indian and Afghanistan. Pakistan Army has fought three wars with India, followed by Kargil conflict, insurgencies and military operations against terrorists. The Army institution of Pakistan has remained the most well-managed, disciplined and dedicated for the country. Apart from playing role for defense of Pakistan’s territory, the Army institution also has a remarkable history of making sacrifices and contribution towards nation building. Pakistan Army, which is considered the backbone support of Pakistan, has been represented very negatively. The adversaries have been blaming Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for belligerency in the region and supporters of non-state actors. Additionally, India has always blamed Pakistan Army and ISI for any incident that
happens in its region or Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). Indeed, India has been trying to divert the world’s attention from its atrocities in IOK and subversive activities in Balochistan province of Pakistan (Azad, 2020).
Foreign media has always been prejudiced to Pakistan. It has never applauded and highlighted sacrifices Pakistan has made in war against terrorism. The US is targeting Pakistan with collaboration with India and Israel. Pakistan army has been the strongest obstacle in their way to gain its foreign policy objectives. Hence, they are targeting Pakistan military from many angles. They are engaged in hybrid warfare in Khyber Pashtunkhuwa and being dragged in Balochistan turmoil as well.
While such an attempts to malign prestigious institution of the state
Hybrid warfare has been a preferred strategy for India to gain its projected goals. Since the formation of its intelligence agency—RAW, it has been constantly involve in subversive activities against Pakistan. Soon after its creation in year 1968, the Indian-spy agency started meddling in Pakistan (Stanley, Kokanee, & Hardgrave, 2008). RAW had created a terrorist organization (Mukti Bahini) which was used to exploit the political crisis of Pakistan in 1970s and eventually resulted in separation of East of Pakistan. It trained, funded and nurtured the organization which was involved in act of atrocities against Pakistan army, their families and people of East Pakistan. Since then, it has been actively carrying out covert operations against Pakistan. India has long been involved covert operations against Pakistan (Khattak, 2019).
Pursuing its projected goals, India has continued to wage fifth generation warfare against Pakistan. Ajit Doval, the National Security Advisor (NSA), while describing his approach in dealing with threats to the Indian National Security said that “we deal with enemy at three levels. First is defensive mode, in which he said we improve our defenses at home and deal with it on our own soil’. Second mode is defensive-offense, in which you have to proactively go to the area from where threat is coming and neutralize it there. And third is offensive mode which implies that ‘you go for offensive out rightly” (Khattak, 2019). The doctrine indicates the Indian ambitions of latest generation warfare against Pakistan. The latest generation warfare has already been launched against Pakistan,
Pakistan has the all strength and capability to counter the challenges of hybrid warfare. In order to make its counter strategy more effective, Pakistan needs a comprehensive counter strategy which should include all the stake-holders at federal and provincial level. At present we are at war. The adversaries are targeting our country with hybrid warfare.
To be true there is no need or reason for Pakistanis to want or crave democracy. It is not an innatesocial need that Pakistanis are born with, nor a taste that they have acquired. In fact, thequestion should be posed the other way round:why should Pakistanis (or any other people)want democracy if they do not know whatit is? If, in fact, kaam chalta rahay, whychange things?
Once Khawaja Asif who had served as the country’s foreign minister during the PML-N government. held politicians responsible for the present state of affairs in the country as, according to him, they had been seeking the “establishment’s” support since 1950 merely to acquire power.
