Pakistan's Military and Its Strategy

Shalini Chawla

This book is an attempt to fill a critical void in our knowledge in understanding Pakistan’s military which on one side began to dominate the power structure of the country and at another sought a unique strategy to apply force for ideological and political goals. Most of the scholarship has focused on the former; and literature on the latter aspect is scant. This is understandable since few countries clearly spell out their military strategy. But as the victim of Pakistan’s military strategy in its myriad dimensions of building it and using it for six decades it is incumbent for us to understand its dynamics in the past to identify the pointers for the future.

Pakistan army has ruled the country for the major part of six decades directly and indirectly; and this has inevitably led to its military strategy shaping the contours of Pakistan’s strategic culture if not its grand strategy. Its strategy has relied heavily on irregular guerrilla warfare conducted as a covert war (through guerrilla fighters, terrorists and religious extremists etc.) and external support for building military power. And nuclear weapons reinforced the confidence and flexibility of tactics in the operational role of covert war which more often than not has been baked at a selected time by overt military offensive.

This comprehensive study of Pakistan’s military and its strategy to pursue ideological and political goals in the future military and foreign policy of Pakistan would be of immense value to the professionals as well as those interested in national defence and military strategy.

Shalini Chawla Shalini Chawla is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), New Delhi. She did her M.Phil from School of International Studies, JNU. She was a research scholar at IDSA, 1999-2002. Currently, at CAPS, she specializes in Pakistan studies with focus on Pakistan military, arms procurement and defence budget.
She has published widely in national and international journals relating to defence and security issues. Her publications have covered a wide range of issues including – Pakistan Army, Navy and the Air Force, Pakistan’s defence spending and arm procurements, Pakistan’s political, social and economic dynamics, United Nations Peacekeeping missions and small arms.