The Pakistani military’s push to integrate its Army, Navy, and Air Force raises questions about whether the shift is driven to adapt the military for modern warfighting at an institutional level – or to consolidate and vest authority for its own sake.
In previous articles on this issue, the author acknowledged the merits of the push, given emerging warfighting challenges that require tri-service collaboration (such as territorial air defence, cybersecurity, and shared assets, including satellites).
Indeed, our recommendation for establishing a ‘Joint Service Office’ (JSO) instead of solely a Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) role was motivated by the desire to see the armed forces pool their resources when dealing with shared procurement requirements, warfighting challenges, and new environments (like cyberwarfare).
Fortunately, a recent speech by the newly appointed CDF, Field Marshal Asim Munir (who also still holds the post of Chief of Army Staff or COAS), indicates that the cross-services integration shift is leaning towards an institutional approach aimed squarely at new warfighting domains the individual tri-services were not designed nor provisioned enough to manage alone.
Dawn’s reporting of Field Marshal Munir’s speech states:
“The CDF highlighted emerging spheres in warfare, such as cyberspace, the electromagnetic spectrum, outer space, information operations, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, which Pakistan needs to keep up with.
CDF Field Marshal Munir further highlighted that the multi-domain operations carried out during the brief war with India in May have now become a textbook example and case study for future warfare.”
Moreover, Field Marshal Munir reiterated that each of the tri-services will continue maintaining their “internal autonomy and organizational structure.”
- Pakistan Air Force’s Shift to Satellites, Jamming, and Standoff Weapons
- How a US Mistake Handed Pakistan’s Arms Market to China.
- The Blueprint for Pakistan’s Future-Proof Air Defence System.
Will the CDF Focus on Only New Warfighting Domains?
That said, one must note that the COAS is the de facto CDF; thus, it would not be accurate to state that the role is ‘independent’ per se. The fact that the CDF derives its authority and power from the Army is a mixed bag.
On the one hand, the CDF will certainly function and have ‘teeth’ in the sense that the Army will directly report to it. This mechanism will ensure that the CDF will always have the backer (via the Army) to execute on its initiatives.
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