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 The Pakistan army and air force have sent a convincing message to the world about its military prowess and operational readiness.Pakistan Army's latest major field exercise codenamed "Azm-e-Nau-3" (fresh resolve) was conducted from April 10 to May 15, 2010. This is the largest field exercise since the highly acclaimed "Zarb-e-Momin" of 1989, which had war-gamed', field tested and validated the then fresh concept of an "offensive-defence" strategy; a sequel to Indian Army Chief General Sunderjee's highly ambitious "Operation Brasstacks". A very vital objective then was to send India a clear message that should it ever embark upon aggression against Pakistan, its army will hit back aggressively, carrying the war into enemy territory.
Twenty-one years down the line, having acquired state-of-the-art military hardware, developed a sound employment policy and taking cognizance of the paradigm shift in the strategic thinking of the enemy, Azm-e-Nau-3 is a culmination of a long and deliberate process of planning, deliberating and evolving a concept of warfare that is mindful of the entire gamut of emerging threats.
Azm-e-Nau-3 was conducted in the backdrop of Pakistan's ongoing COIN (counter insurgency) operations, where the Pakistan Army is playing a major role and has been acclaimed internationally for its success. The international war against terror, which was thrust upon Pakistan, in the aftermath of 9/11 and has sucked Pakistan, forced the Army to evolve fresh tactics and strategy to combat the faceless enemy, that dons suicide jackets, mingles with the population, targets mosques, hospitals and education centers, maiming and killing women, children and old persons. The war against insurgency, being fought by the Pakistan Army through its blood, sweat and guts has no parallels in either modern or ancient warfare.
Pakistan's COIN Ops are not against guerrilla operations or insurgency in its classic sense nor is it fighting a war against resistance but the mêlée is against an adversary, which is battle-hardened, armed, trained and abetted by Pakistan's traditional enemies, who are trying to destabilize the country.
Threat perception is based on capabilities of the adversary. Like 1989, Pakistan's eastern neighbor, besides amassing weapons of mass destruction, has developed Blitzkrieg style war doctrines like "Cold Start", and is indulging in intimidation and jingoistic threats. In the last 24 months alone, it has conducted 12 military exercises to operationalize its "Cold Start" strategy.
Highlighting the importance of joint warfare, Pakistan's COIN Ops in Swat and Waziristan saw the Army and Air Force fully complementing each other. Air cover, which is essential to any operation, besides providing a strategic umbrella, has added a new dimension to the acquisition of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms.
Azm-e-Nau-3 was dovetailed to coincide with PAF's Exercise "High Mark-2010", where joint operations, as envisaged by Pakistan's defence planners were put to test. A unique attribute of the exercise was optimizing the technological developments and advancement in intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance communication and revolutionizing modern warfare, making early warning an essential feature of postmodern operational concepts. All these aspects were not only optimally leveraged in the field exercise, but heavily relied upon and tested to the core. PAF's freshly inducted platforms of Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW & C) Systems, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and ground-based surveillance systems came into full play as they have been envisaged as the nucleus of operations, both in conventional warfare and COIN Ops.
Three fire power demonstrations were organized, one by the PAF, and two by the Army. The PAF, besides demonstrating the lethality of its combat aircraft, also showcased its new force multipliers, the IL-78 air-to-air refueler and the Saab 2000 AEW & C aircraft equipped with Erieye Radar. It also depicted a mock COIN exercise jointly when a crack unit of the Army commandos, air landed on to a terrorist hideout, overpowered the miscreants and were retrieved in real time after mission accomplishment.
The integrated fire power demonstration at the Army Firing Range of Khairpur Tamewali, northwest of Bahawalpur in the Cholistan Desert was the culmination of the first phase of Azm-e-Nau -3. It was a visual and graphic manifestation of the new concepts evolved and physical demonstration of countering the Cold Start Strategy. In the third demonstration, the Army Strategic Force Command conducted successful training launches of a Short Range Ballistic Missile Hatf III (GHAZNAVI), and a Medium Range Ballistic Missile Hatf IV (SHAHEEN 1) aimed at testing the operational readiness of Strategic Missile Groups. The politico-military nuances were highly visible and to accentuate the message, besides the national and international media, military attachés accredited to Islamabad, including those from India and USA, were specially airlifted to witness the demonstrations.
Three distinct implications evolved, in addition to stressing the military prowess and operational readiness. Firstly that India's Cold Start doctrine can be effectively countered by Pakistan, which was physically demonstrated; secondly that Pakistan's Armed Forces remain Indo-centric, despite the U.S. urging that the threat from India had receded and Pakistan should withdraw its forces from the eastern theatre and deploy them at the western front to target the Afghan Taliban, allegedly holed up in North Waziristan. The third message was more subtle and expressed obliquely by the destruction of the Pakistani manufactured drone Shahbaz through Army Air Defence Oerlikon 20 mm anti-air cannons operating with the Sky Guard radars. The indigenously developed surveillance drone Shahbaz was blown to smithereens, much to the delight of the spectators, perhaps symbolizing that the U.S. drones that have been wreaking havoc in the tribal region, can also be meted the same treatment if the occasion arises and the political dispensation so decrees.
The successful test of the two ballistic missiles, capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads up to a range of 290 and 650 kilometers, respectively, was perhaps meant to give a loud and clear signal to the detractors of Pakistan's nuclear program that it was not being rolled back and was in capable hands. The presence of the newly appointed head of Pakistan's Nuclear Command Authority, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani gave it a stamp of authority.
The Prime Minister used the opportunity to reiterate the need for the world to move on beyond safety and security concerns, stating that these were laid to rest at the recently held Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C. where Pakistan effectively projected its stance and that it is time for the world to recognize Pakistan as a de jure nuclear power with equal rights and responsibilities. He also demanded that Pakistan be given a Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) waiver for civil nuclear energy cooperation as energy is a vital economic security need of Pakistan and nuclear energy is a clean way forward. He stressed that Pakistan is capable of providing nuclear fuel cycle services, under IAEA safeguards, an offer, which was also made at the Nuclear Security Summit, much to the surprise of the world.
The Times Square bombing episode may prove to be a setback to the progress made but that is another story. As a final message, the field exercises also clearly depicted the Army's deliberate return to its professional duties; the restoration of the civil-military balance and the confidence gained by its officers and men through the recent successes in the insurgency operations despite the supreme sacrifice of lives, aptly titling the war games as Azm-e-Nau or Fresh Resolve.
S. M. Hali is a film producer and a practicing journalist. He has contributed over 2000 articles, produced 125 documentaries and hosts a TV talk show. He is currently based in Islamabad.
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