Abstract
The history of war is divided into five distinct eras starting from the mid 1640s. Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW), though as old as the history of war itself, has acquired a new character with the introduction of new technology that could hardly be conceived before the 1980s. 4GW is an umbrella term used by military thinkers to describe conflicts at the end of the 20th century. It is characterized by a blurring of the lines between war and politics, soldier and civilian, conflict and peace, battlefield and safety. The incident of 9/11, the resultant US response and the counter strategy adopted by the Taliban and other militant groups opened a Pandora’s Box for Pakistan and Afghanistan making them the most vulnerable targets of 4GW. The threat posed by militants to Pakistan was so serious that its army had to be called in; the onslaught of the 4GW militants was beyond the capacity of the paramilitary forces to handle. The current and potential threats of 4GW to Pakistan warrant that it must evolve a comprehensive strategy involving the entire nation while taking into account regional and international factors. The main objective of the proposed strategy should be to asphyxiate the promoters/propagators of 4GW against Pakistan.

Khurshid Khan, Afifa Kiran. (2012) Understanding Fourth Generation Warfare And It’s Relevance To Pakistan, IPRI Journal, Volume-12, Issue-2.
  • Views 647
  • Downloads 93

Article Details

Journal
Volume
Issue
Type
Language