Pak Army terms 'homegrown militancy, not India’ as biggest threat

The Pakistan Army has described homegrown militancy as the ‘biggest threat’ to national security. For decades, the army considered India as its No 1 enemy, but growing extremism in the country compelled the military chiefs to review its strategy.

According to the new Army Doctrine, ongoing activities of Taliban militants in the restive tribal regions and unabated terrorist attacks on government installations in major cities were posing a real threat to Pakistan’s security.

A senior military official confirmed to The Express Tribune that a new chapter has been added to the Army Doctrine that would now also include threats posed by sub-conventional warfare.

The official requesting anonymity said, “Pakistan’s armed forces were trained for conventional warfare, but the current security situation necessitated the change.”

He added that forces fighting on the front-line in the tribal regions are now being trained as per the requirements of sub-conventional warfare.

According to the BBC, the new Army Doctrine talks about unidentified militant groups and their role to create unrest in the country.

Quoting military officials, the new Army Doctrine blames “foreign proxies” for creating unrest in some parts of the country, although it does not name any country, the report said.

It is widely believed that the army might be referring to India’s alleged role in creating disturbances in Balochistan, the report said.

According to the report, military sources told the BBC that Pakistan could not preempt the US secret raid in Abbottabad in May 2011, because of a lack of threat perception from western borders (Afghanistan) and concentration of armed forces at eastern frontiers (India).