Urgent Need To Plan Against 3-Front Threats

India faces risks on its borders with Pakistan, China and Bangladesh. The fact that the fronts represent three different types of threat increases the complexity in strategic thinking

- LT GEN SYED ATA HASNAIN (RETD)

The public has often heard of the two-front threat to India's border security. However, for the first time in recent history, the country finds itself confronting an active and complex threat environment on three distinct fronts. Each adversary—Pakistan, China and potentially Bangladesh—presents a unique security challenge demanding entirely different response spectrums.

Bangladesh is really not an adversary yet. But in view of the current dynamics in bilateral relations, it's fair enough to consider threat options from that direction too. Together, this creates a continuous arc of strategic tension along India's western, northern and eastern borders. Managing this tri-junction of pressure calls not just for better resource optimization, but for a complete review of how India perceives threats, including those in concert, in the near future.

In the case of Pakistan, it's all about hybrid war under a conventional and nuclear umbrella. The conventional military equation remains in India's favor, but the role of Pakistan's military remains dangerous because of its historic irrationality, an offensive nuclear posture and the continued patronage of radical non-state actors. The terrain here is a complicated mosaic—high-altitude battle zones in J&K, riverine and canal obstacle systems in Punjab, and deserts in Rajasthan.

While Pakistan's army remains a professional conventional force, its real warfighting doctrine continues to be hybrid in nature. Radical proxies, extremist ideological mobilization, information operations, cyber warfare, and cross-border terrorism remain the preferred instruments. Despite the recent failings in West Asia in the domain of hybrid conflict, Pakistan is likely to persist with its more refined and technologically proficient versions.