On November 9 last year, Chief of the Army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said, “We are now confronting hybrid warfare where focus shifting to subversion on religious, sectarian, ethnic and social issues. This needs a comprehensive national response. It is our time to rise and progress and we must grasp the opportunity achieved after countless sacrifices.”
There is no denying the impression that since Pakistan has been emerged as a sovereign state on the world map she has embroiled in the web of hybrid, non-traditional, non-conventional or fifth generation warfare. On the first instance it is prerequisite to understand the real meaning and purpose of waging hybrid warfare. It is basically a non-traditional warfare against the rival to achieve the objective through employing multiple techniques. It is evident beyond the shred of doubt that it is basically a military strategy to fracture the enemy from inside by exploiting their weaknesses.
Additionally, to target a state social, ethnic, linguistic and sectarian fault lines. It is a well-documented fact that world has changed dramatically and birth of internet has made it easier for militarists to jump into the quagmire of hybrid warfare. Unfortunately, it is a matter of deep concern for Pakistan that she has been enmeshed in the fabric of hybrid warfare from last seven decades that has impeded the country to flourish as well as to thrive.
Immediately, after the independence of Pakistan, Russia and India interfered in the Baluchistan to and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to destabilize the country by giving birth to insurgents. Russia also recruited thousands of people under the aegis of scholarships.
1971 war and Dhaka debacle are the glaring examples of hybrid warfare. India and Russia jointly intervened in the East Pakistan and launched Mukti Bahini as a torch bearer to unleash the reign of terror against Urdu and Bengali speaking peoples. Their main focus was ethnic and linguistic weaknesses. Unfortunately, Pakistan was fractured and divided and East Pakistan emerged as a Bangladesh.
In a similar way, Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have collected dossier of proofs regarding foreign meddling on the construction of new dams. It is a matter of deep concern and flabbergasting that as water scarce country government has failed to coup up with this issue.
Likewise, polio infection has been an image of international embarrassment for Pakistan because many developing countries have eradicated this virus successfully. Hence, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and tourism have reached at lowest ebb. Pakistan’s economy is passing through intense throes the major cause is plummeted foreign investment. This depicts Pakistan as a failed state.
In addition to this, killing of health workers and by using the platform of propaganda that polio vaccines cause reproduction related issues to control the population. Pakistan has been ensnared for last one decade in this issue.
Kulbhushan Jadhav the Indian Naval Commander was arrested from Baluchistan while crossing border with Iran clearly reflects India’s malign role inside Pakistan. According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), that one of his assignment was to sabotage China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
So, from the above discussion it can easily be envisaged that in today’s world scope of hybrid warfare has increased manifold. However, for Pakistan the situation is very alarming and it is the need of the hour that government must design policies to control both electronic and social media to halt youth of the country from getting enmeshed in the hands of foreigners.
Furthermore, Pakistan’s government not to leave any stone unturned to highlight India’s war mongering in front of the world.