SEMINAR

Military Interoperability Amid the Changing Character of War: Transforming Pakistan’s Defence in the Modern Conflict Environment

May 29, 2024

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president

Air Marshal Asim Suleiman (Retd)

SEMINAR COORDINATOR

Ameer Abdullah Khan

EDITOR

Dr Bilal Ghazanfar

RAPPORTEURS

Samreen Shahbaz & Sibra Waseem

Executive Summary

The national seminar hosted by the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), Lahore, on Military Interoperability Amid the Changing Character of War: Transforming Pakistan’s Defence in the Modern Conflict Environment brought together distinguished military leaders and strategic thinkers to explore the issue.

Ameer Abdullah Khan, Senior Research Associate at CASS Lahore, opened the seminar by contextualising interoperability as not merely a technical or tactical requirement but as a foundational strategic imperative for Pakistan’s national defence. He described interoperability as the cohesive function of technical systems, procedural standardisation, human trust, and information flow. Emphasising that war today spans land, air, maritime, cyber, and space domains, he warned that the regional threat environment necessitates not only tri-service coordination but functional fusion through real-time data, shared doctrines, and integrated command systems.

Air Marshal Abdul Moeed Khan HI(M) (Retd), Vice Chancellor of Air University, delivered a keynote address that placed airpower at the heart of joint force integration. Drawing on historical, conceptual, and operational insights, he argued that airpower is no longer a supporting arm but the gravitational centre of joint operations. He elaborated on Pakistan’s fragmented command and air defence structures, underscoring the limitations posed by separate service doctrines and lack of an empowered joint command authority. Referencing Operation Bunyan-ul-Marsus as a proof-of-concept, he stressed that Pakistan must move from coordination to command integration, modernise its C4I2SR infrastructure, and institutionalise doctrinal convergence. AM Khan advocated for establishing tri-service operational planning cycles, joint training regimes, and a reconstituted Joint Operational Integration Council (JOIC) to oversee interoperability benchmarks. His address concluded with the warning that legacy structures must give way to an integrated, anticipatory, and information-driven military posture.

Lt Gen Riaz HI(M) (Retd) offered a broader strategic framing by examining the enduring nature and evolving character of war. He asserted that while war remains rooted in human and political impulses, its modes and manifestations have become increasingly hybrid, psychological, and multi-domain. Reflecting on India’s dual-track strategy—combining indirect coercion with selective use of military force—he highlighted New Delhi’s attempts to degrade Pakistan’s national will, strategic posture, and regional standing. Pakistan, he argued, has withstood these pressures due to its national resolve, credible deterrent, and resilient institutions. Lt Gen Riaz urged a recalibration of Pakistan’s operational doctrine, anchored in unity of purpose, strategic foresight, and joint planning. He identified intelligence as the unifying thread across all domains and emphasised that interoperability must enhance, not constrain, political and diplomatic manoeuvrability. He concluded by calling for integration across national power instruments—military, diplomatic, economic, and legal.

Rear Admiral Syed Faisal Ali Shah (Retd) highlighted the strategic importance of maritime interoperability in Pakistan’s evolving defence landscape, particularly within the contested Indian Ocean Region. He emphasised that the Pakistan Navy faces critical gaps in sensor integration, real-time data sharing, and cross-service coordination—especially with the Air Force and Army—along the western seaboard. While Pakistan contributes to multinational maritime initiatives, coalition-level interoperability remains largely procedural rather than operational. Admiral Faisal underscored the need for a unified maritime domain awareness framework, joint command protocols, and secure communications infrastructure to enable cohesive responses to hybrid and grey-zone threats. He called for embedding naval operations within a multi-domain warfare doctrine, investing in indigenous ISR capabilities, and institutionalising naval presence in joint operational planning to ensure Pakistan’s maritime security posture is agile, resilient, and integrated with national defence objectives.

The interactive segment engaged the audience in a dynamic exchange on operational gaps, structural inertia, and policy recommendations. Participants raised pertinent questions about digital interoperability, coalition-level coordination, and doctrinal harmonisation, reinforcing the need for joint education, unified threat assessments, and institutional reform.

In his closing remarks, Air Marshal Asim Suleiman (Retd), President of CASS Lahore, expressed appreciation for the robust and visionary discussions. He reaffirmed CASS’s commitment to fostering strategic clarity and actionable thought leadership. Summarising the proceedings, he emphasised that interoperability is no longer optional but essential to Pakistan’s security calculus. He called for decisive steps toward joint force development, integrated C2 systems, and a military culture that prioritises synergy, innovation, and future-readiness.

The seminar concluded with a collective call to action: to align Pakistan’s military architecture with the demands of modern warfare, not through incremental reform, but through systemic transformation.

Key Takeaways

Imperative of Joint Warfare and Interoperability

Joint warfare is no longer a choice but an operational necessity in the face of nonlinear, hybrid threats. Pakistan’s and India’s services still fall short of true jointness due to the absence of a unified strategy, shared platforms, and joint operational doctrines.

Air Power Centrality in Future Warfare

Air power will be the dominant force in future wars, which will be multi-domain, swift, and technologically intensive. Through its rapid transformation and integration of modern platforms, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has positioned itself at the centre of joint operations, enabling force projection across land, sea, space, and cyber domains.

Lack of Integrated Air Defence Architecture

Due to the smaller size of the PAF and the vast area to be defended, the army and navy developed their own ground-based air defence systems. Owing to this, Pakistan’s air defence architecture remains fragmented across services, with no unified command or coherent doctrine.

Inadequate Command and Control Framework

Pakistan has institutionalised tri-service coordination through the establishment of the Joint Staff Headquarters, but its lack of operational authority prevents effective interoperability. The absence of a robust joint C2 system limits real-time decision-making and data sharing across air, land, and maritime operations.

Multidomain Dominance in Operation Marka-e-Haq

Operation Marka-e-Haq exemplifies successful multi-domain warfare, showcasing the PAF’s dominance across the electromagnetic spectrum, cyber, and space domains. This success, driven by dynamic leadership and adaptive strategies, forged a decisive multi-domain kill chain that disrupted the adversary’s offensive calculus.

Modern War as a Contest of National Power

Modern warfare is a comprehensive contest involving psychological, informational, economic, and kinetic means. It engages all elements of national power and exploits weaknesses through multidimensional pressure, often below the conventional threshold.

India’s 5th Gen Warfare Strategy Against Pakistan

India employs fifth-generation warfare, including proxies, propaganda, and lawfare, to weaken Pakistan and create space for kinetic actions. This dual-track strategy aims to degrade national resolve and make Pakistan a pliant state.

Maritime Interoperability Gaps

With the expansion of the area of responsibility, the Pakistan Navy faces sensor integration gaps and coordination challenges with the PAF and the Army. Moreover, despite participating in multilateral operations, coalition-level interoperability carries significant room for enhancement.

Policy Considerations

Establish a Unified and Integrated Command System

Pakistan needs to transition towards a fully integrated command system under a centralised authority capable of managing synchronised military and hybrid threats across all domains. This will inevitably require the creation of a tri-service unity of command under a Chief of Defence Staff, as practised in other modern forces.

Develop a Unified Military Strategy Based on NSP

Pakistan must formulate a unified national military strategy derived from the National Security Policy, harmonised with interoperable service doctrines and joint operational concepts across air, land, sea, cyber, and space domains.

Build an Integrated Tri-Service Air Defence Architecture

There is an urgent need to establish a coherent and layered air defence structure integrating systems and sensors of all three services under PAF leadership, with a centralised C2 network for airspace dominance in BVR and contested environments.

Invest in Joint C4I2SR Infrastructure

Interoperability demands strengthening national command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, information, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to enable real-time situational awareness and operational synchronisation.

Institutionalise Multi-Tier Joint Training

It is imperative to launch standardised joint training at basic, intermediate, and command levels, focusing on effect-based operations, domain integration, and decision superiority across all services.

Implement a Joint Operational Planning Cycle

Designing and executing a structured three-year tri-service planning cycle comprising combined war plans, integrated wargaming, simulation-based testing, and multi-domain field exercises is the need of the hour.

Align Force Structures with Future Warfighting Needs

PAF should continue to restructure force development priorities to reflect the demands of multi-domain warfare, ensuring PAF’s leadership in BVR, cyber, EW, and ISR-centric combat capabilities.

Strengthen Joint Maritime and Coastal Security Operations

Reinforced tri-service maritime coordination should be achieved through regular joint naval exercises, intelligence fusion, and interoperability improvements along the western seaboard and at key nodes like Gwadar.

Institutionalise Cross-Service Communication Protocols

As future wars will revolve around connectivity among tri-services in the entire electromagnetic spectrum and centralised battle management, it is imperative to establish secure and seamless communication, shared data links, encrypted channels, and hotlines.