Non-Kinetic Proxy Threats to the National Security: Way Forward For Pakistan

Abstract

For a nation to be independent and sovereign, national security in all of its manifestations must come first and take precedence over all other factors. In essence, "national security" refers to a state's role to counter potential dangers in both the internal and exterior domains by utilizing all of its national strength. The nature of war as a political and social phenomenon has not changed as a result of this conflict, but it has changed from being kinetic to non-kinetic, conventional to sub-conventional, traditional to non-traditional, or a combination of these due to changing technological and societal developments. We will discuss proxy risks to national security, which are an aftershock of non-kinetic warfare (NKW), a topic that is often underappreciated and little understood. It is the responsibility of policymakers to create workable, goal-oriented policies to address the envisioned threats. The main objectives of this study are to examine non-kinetic proxy threats, factors, and their impact on national security of Pakistan. This research is descriptive. Descriptive research design is a category of qualitative research that aims to accurately and systematically describe a population, situation, or phenomenon. Since Pakistan has got the potential to gain equation with its adversaries by resorting to nuclear weapons as a deterrence, the potential for an open war field against Pakistan has been minimized, thus thriving the covert and crypto-diplomatic mechanism through 5th Generation warfare. By providing them with basic services and human rights for better livelihoods, the Pakistani government should win the minds and hearts of those who live in underdeveloped and violently conflicted, and war-affected regions like FATA and Balochistan so that they won't resort to illegal means to violate the laws of the state. The government might open the door for psychological operations against Pakistan if it does not aggressively improve the socioeconomic conditions in those areas. The best strategy to increase Islamabad's resistance against hybrid threats is to take the necessary actions to enhance democracy and the economy for security reasons. Future fields of use for perverting perceptions and producing confusion might include mind control sciences and HAARP. Information exploitation, cyber-attacks, espionage, and impacts based on unconventional and asymmetric operations against sensitive/vital sectors are possible future uses.