Every age has its own kind of warfare and Pakistan has been exposed to the new kind of warfare which we call hybrid warfare. The fact that differentiates between hybrid and conventional warfare is that the rival attains its goals while keeping itself under the nuclear threshold.
In South Asia, since independence, India wanted to dominate and be a hegemonic state. But India cannot afford to risk a full-scale war with Pakistan which can open to a nuclear exchange or even to an immense war that can gravely damage its political aims. India then went for hybrid warfare against Pakistan. The 3D objectives that India wanted to achieve through this are Destabilize, Demoralize and Disintegrate.
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Indian media has been conducting information warfare against Pakistan. The Bollywood movie “Uri” which portray Indian Special Forces conducting a surgical operation inside Pakistan that was done to upgrade the image of Modi Leadership and to develop an international image of Pakistan as a terrorist sponsoring state. Another South Indian movie “Action” showed Pakistan Army supporting terrorist group for doing terrorism in India.
Indian lobbyists in international media industry are carrying out propagandas against Pakistan. An Indian news channel, Republic TV attempted to intend that the suicide bomber responsible for pulwama attack came from Pakistan. After Pulwama attack Indian Defense Ministry established the social media wing with the only mission of spreading fake news.
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India also waged Cyber warfare against Pakistan. During the post Pulwama attack India launched a cyber attack on Pakistan in which websites of Pakistan Foreign Office were hacked and put out of service. Economic warfare has been conducted against Pakistan to weaken its economy and to slow its rise to a point where it can never put the domination of regional power in danger. Since 1947 India has been waging water conflict to slow down its economic growth.
President Arif Alvi said India was backing terrorism in Afghanistan and using Afghanistan’s soil for hybrid warfare against Pakistan. The mastermind of the blast in Lahore’s Johar Town was an Indian associated with RAW, said National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf. So it was clearly an act of Indian Sponsored Terrorism. The attack that happened the previous year on the Pakistan Stock Exchange was also sponsored by India.
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Political warfare has been also waged against Pakistan like India was attempting to get Pakistan blacklisted for its own political and Foreign Policy purposes. India portrayed Pakistan as a hub of terrorism. CPEC has also been the earmark of this political warfare. Near Dasu Hydropower a bus blast happened 12 people died including 9 Chinese engineers. This was clearly an Indian sponsored cowardly terrorism attack to affect the project. Several violent groups are being backed, funded and supported by India in Pakistan like Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan, Baloch Liberation Army and Baloch Liberation Front.
India has conducted hybrid warfare to undermine the political, economical and social stability of Pakistan. Pakistan is doing a very effective job against India’s propagandas. To save itself from future propagandas, Pakistan should make fake news counter cells, Educate Media community, improve mechanisms against money laundering and terror financing and social media campaigns must be launched to represent a positive image of Pakistan. Our leadership should educate and make citizens aware of hybrid warfare.
Author: Virda Azam
