Statement follows announcement of new army doctrine which focuses on home-grown militancy. PHOTO: FILE
Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said the military is fully prepared to respond to threats of any kind whatsoever, be they direct, indirect, overt or covert.
Gen Kayani made the statement during a visit to the Sialkot garrison to witness an army mobilisation exercise on Tuesday. According to a senior military official, the army chief was trying to convey the message that “conventional threats” to Pakistan are still a reality.
Recently, the army changed its decades-old doctrine by acknowledging that growing militancy in the country was posing a serious threat to the country’s national security. But now, the military is attempting to play down the hype.
“A full spectrum of threat means that we cannot remain oblivious to all aspects including conventional and sub-conventional,” the official explained while requesting anonymity. He maintained that the army mobilisation exercise clearly indicated that the conventional threat had not receded by any means.
The exercise is part of the army’s new concept of war fighting in response to India’s allegedly Pakistan-specific Cold Start Doctrine.
The doctrine is intended to allow India’s conventional forces to carry out swift and unexpected attacks in a manner before international pressure could bear down on India and before Pakistani military can react; that is, in under 72 hours. The Indian military, however, denies the existence of any such doctrine.
The military official said under the new concept, Pakistan Army can mobilise in less time than India in case of war.
“The changes aim at improving the mobilisation time to enable Pakistan Army to put in practice the army’s new concept of war fighting, which has already been evolved and validated in the Azm-e-Nau series of war games and exercises in the last four years,” said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2013.
COMMENTS (20)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
It's a fact that Taliban can stand before 50 nation INSAF but can not before the Pak army .
YES, Agreed , but ,......Bad is bad . No difference of good and bad is there .
@Imran Ahsan Mirza: It was Zia's martial law that created all the Talibans and Musharaf used them for political purposes! How do you know the next martial law will not be even worse?
@What: So are you a "walaiti" liberal or a "taliban" liberal? Don't you have any logical arguments instead of these cheap shots?
@Imran Ahsan Mirza: Brother, give the brothers-in-arms a breather. They are doing a magnificient job of taking apart Pakistan with their strategic depth and other such policies. Your requests will have to wait till that job is done.
Kiani, you have failed the nation. People are being slaughtered on a daily basis.
Terrorists are roaming free, supported by politicians.
@Usman: "Threats to Pakistan eminate from all areas, internal as well as external. " Why are you the only country in the world which feels/is so threatened? It can't be because others covet anything you have, your riches or prestige or intellectual prowess or anything or quality of value. You are in the dumps in every conceivable area. Give it some thought. Could it be that it is because you are quite an antisocial people by your very nature! You just don't know how to, or want to, get along with others in the world!
Please impose martial law and kill all Taliban. We will remain with you (for 11 years). PPP government as always has spread their cancer by employing Jahil people in all government services. PIA and Railways are both doomed, now it's turn for PAk Army and other stable institutions. Please kick them out to save Pakistan, there was never a bigger challenge faced by Pakistan than today. Shias are slaughtered as lambs on Eid day. Your silence is deafening. Please impose martial law.
Establishment ( army ) will continue to keep the stand of conventional threats ( from India) to maintain their importance. Corruption and ill governance of the political ruling be it in the province or i n the national Assembly has helped the military to stress their importance( with less revealed corrupt practices )
Yeah right -- the problem is that the Taliban and the long list of foreign boogeyman are not impressed by Kayani speeches -- time for him to show some leadership and actually fight the terrorist.
Anything but CSF dropping drones.
Dear CinC of Pak Army, the greatest threat lies at the Presidency. The greatest harm has come from rentals and previous heads who have looted in Haj scandals, power projects, they have devoured institutions like Railways and PIA. They are plundering at lightening speed.
Please takecare of them, the nation will be obliged
Well said. Just like it has been handling them over the last six decades.
This is clearly a message to desi liberals who were overjoyed that Pakistan Army no longer considers India as threat.
We will always stand by Pak Army and other defence institutions.
Except the most obvious and dangerous one posed by the 'strategic assets'!
Threats to Pakistan eminate from all areas, internal as well as external. Anyone pushing the security apparatus to focus on one while ignoring the other is fooling themselves. Yet, the right balance must be struck to ensure the priorities are right, and the Army is doing that and must be appreciated.
Excellent work of logical conclusion and appropriate planning by Pak Brass. Only if our political leaders are proved to be as honorable and "hubbul wattan" as the soldiers are. I wish Pakistan was a formidable democratic power by now. We need swift reform in accountability laws for a better and stable future.
We (have to) stand by our army through thick and thin. However, Pak Army has suffered a massive loss to the reputation to its professionalism for not being able to handle terrorists. Hundreds of its armed troops were kidnapped or killed and sensitive installations attacked. This all is despite the fact that the whole country is being run through military and intelligence apparatus on lions share of the budget. Army needs to prove that it stands by the people and not by itself.
The nation is standing with you against Pakistan's enemy.