Pakistan’s Susceptibility to 5th Generation Hybrid Warfare due to its Prevailing Fault Lines: A Comparative Analysis with Yugoslavia

Abstract

Warfare has witnessed a paradigm shift ever since the fall of USSR. The examples of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka are depictions of how this warfare destroys the opposing force. The world witnessed disintegration of former Yugoslavia in early 1990s due to internal warring factions. Literature argues that besides multitude of causes, a major role was played by socio-economic, religious and sectarian fault lines. Multiple scholars have argued that similar fault lines and problems are present in the contemporary Pakistan. These problems are prone to exploitation due to our inbuilt problems such as sectarianism, religious radicalization, and economic disparities. However, to a great extent, Pakistan has fared better than former Yugoslavia because of its ability to launch a multi-faceted offensive strategy, ranging from direct military action to counter-propaganda, and economic counteractions. To this end, this paper is a qualitative analysis of the exploitative component of 5th Generation Hybrid Warfare. It explicates how Pakistan has been successful in thwarting the threat and maintaining peace. Using existing literature and case studies, this paper also signposts the need to take certain measures which will be instrumental in preventing such issues from taking roots.