1. Learning by Doing: The Pakistan Army's Experience with Counterinsurgency
- Author:
- Shuja Nawaz
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Despite having entered the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in force to support the coalition invasion of Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom, the Pakistan Army did not undertake real counterinsurgency operations till much after 2001. Most of its early operations centered on the conventional use of dominating force against irregular opponents in this rugged region. It was hampered as much by lack of training and equipment as it was by its outmoded approaches to fighting in the frontier region. Gradually, its officers began learning by doing, and the Swat operation in 2008 probably marked the turning point in the doctrinal shift to serious counterinsurgency (COIN) operations, regardless of the fact that the army called it Low Intensity Conflict (LIC).
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Terrorism, Military Strategy, Counterinsurgency, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, and South Asia