THE strategy is dynamic; therefore, defence policymakers must be intelligent and flexible to update their military doctrines in response to transformations in strategic environment and the changing nature and characteristics of war driven by equipment modernisation. Armed forces that are apathetic to evolutionary processes in the military domain and incapable of regulating them in response to transformation in current operational environment will swiftly become redundant, and the state will pay cost of military obliviousness on the battlefield in the form of defeat. Thus, amending military doctrine to improve posture is an essential responsibility of the rulers.

Strategy implementation efforts are often bogged down by pitfalls such as policymakers’ inability to anticipate the nature and characteristics of war, increasing likelihood of doctrinal and operational shifts, and a lack of coordination among various tiers of armed forces. These shortcomings prevent the translation of defense policy into action, leading to catastrophic consequences in war.

Often, brilliant strategies fail to produce desired results in war because armed forces miss evolutionary processes in the command domain due to rigidity in organisational structures. Even development and procurement of modern weapons do not serve purpose because the commander does not execute strategy effectively. Thus, real problem is a mismatch between what the strategy was designed to accomplish and how commander-in-chief and his subordinates implemented it.

Pakistan’s........

© Pakistan Observer