Islamabad, Pakistan – On the eve of the eighty -eighth Independence Day in Pakistan, Prime Minister Shihab Sharif announced the formation of a new army force in the army (ARFC) that he said “will have modern technology and the ability to hit the enemy from every direction.”
“This will enhance our traditional capabilities,” Sharif said during an event on August 13 in Islamabad.
The “enemy” in Pakistan is an India blog, the neighbor and the armed competitor in Pakistan, which will be tested after a week of medium-range Agni-V ballistic missiles, with a range above 5,000 km (3100 miles).
Most analysts rejected any link between the AGNI test, which occurred from the integrated test scope in the eastern Odisha state in India off the Bay of Bengal, and the formation of ARFC.
But the creation of Arfc follows tense Conflict for four days Between Pakistan and India in May, where the two sides exchanged air strikes, missile fire and drone attacks on the military facilities for each other. Experts say the conflict revealed holes in the strategic deterrence of Pakistan, which has now relied on the country’s nuclear weapons for nearly three decades on the country’s nuclear weapons – and a mysterious position when it can be used.
The creation of a dedicated missile power also reflects a wider global direction. Modern wars, including those between Ukraine and Russia And Israel’s confrontations with Iran and HezbollahHe emphasized the increasing role of missiles and drones, accurately directed in the modern war.
What is the driving of the missile power in Pakistan?
Sharif did not reveal the operational details of ARFC, but security analysts describe it as a new arm of the Pakistani army that was created for the center of control over the traditional missile forces.
Under the structure of the military leadership in Pakistan, its nuclear arsenal decreases under the Strategic Plans Department (SPD), while the National Command Authority (NCA), while the National Command Authority (NCA), is the highest decision -making body in the country regarding nuclear and missile policy.
According to Naeem Salik, the former army officer who served in SPD, ARFC will focus on traditional missile systems instead of weapons that could be able to core.
“Unlike the traditional artillery, which has a limited group ranging from 30 to 35 km (from 19 to 22 miles), ARFC focuses on missiles accompanied by guides that are purely traditional systems and have no nuclear capacity.”
He said that ballistic missiles and cruises are the ability to control SPD and NCA, while Arfc will be supervised by the General headquarters of the Army (GHQ).
On the other hand, says TGHRAL YAMIN, the former army dean and a specialist in weapons control and nuclear affairs.
“The driving of the missile power must be seen in the broader context of developing regional threats. It is not a reaction to any one test or skirmishes,” Yamin said.
The Pakistan Army is currently running nine elements across the country, along with three specialized orders: air defense, cyber, and leadership of strategic forces, which run nuclear delivery systems.
Arfc is expected to lead a three -star general, which reflects its strategic importance. A three -star general in the Pakistani army is among the great generals who have obtained the leading tasks in the military corps that are strategically important and other departments.
Why was Arfc needed?
Analysts argue that ARFC is a long -term ideological development instead of a short -term response to missile tests in India or the May.
Yamin said: “Indian missile tests emphasize Pakistan’s urgency, but the driving of the missile power is part of a long -term ideological development instead of a short -term reaction.”
Christopher Clary, a political scientist at Albani, chanted this opinion.
“Pakistan has already begun to transform its planning towards obtaining more short -range ballistic missile options to use it in conflicts with India,” Clary told Al -Jazeera.
The academy added: “In this context, it is logical to separate the leadership of the strategic forces, responsible for nuclear missions, for the power of the missiles, which will focus on traditional strikes.”
Mansor Ahmed, lecturer at the Australian National University, said that Pakistan is building traditional counter capabilities for years.
He said: “All nuclear armed countries have developed traditional strategic options. Therefore, Pakistani ARFC fills an important gap and ability to face the increasing options in the field of anti -India.”
He said that India’s development of “first position” and long -term precise capabilities added a urgency to Pakistan’s decision.
“May Conflict just strengthened the urgent need to operate the emerging strategic forces in Pakistan in the wake of the traditional missile strikes of India.”
What missiles will fall under the Arfc?
Pakistan has a set of missiles, including systems from the surface to the surface, the air to the surface, and the surface systems.
Although some are able to use the nucleus, Arfc will primarily control the traditional and medium -range missiles, according to security experts.
Salik said that the force currently includes the Fatah-1 (ranging from up to 140 km or 90 miles) and the FATAH-2 missiles (ranging between 250-400 km or 155-250 miles), both of which were deployed during the conflict in May, along with systems such as Hatf-1 and ABDALI, which ranges less than 500 km (310 miles).
Ahmed said that the new leadership will provide Pakistan “the deep strike options against high -value targets in India without reducing the nuclear threshold.”
He said: “The development of multi -cut missile systems and micro -traditional capabilities under ARFC is essential to implementing the Pakistan Plus, which is in response to India’s deterrent position.”
The Pakistani doctrine of “Quid Pro Quo Plus” indicates the possibility of Pakistan’s response to the Indian attack, which can exceed a simple action similarly, by being more expanding or even not intense in an inconsistent manner in a way that can risk intensifying conflict, but is still including enough to avoid nuclear collision.
Lessons from the May conflict
During May’s fight, Pakistan claimed that it had shot down several Indian aircraft on the day of the inauguration of the battle.
While they initially refused to lose any aircraft, Indian military officials eventually admitted that they had lost planes, without recognizing the exact number of the aircraft that were shot down.
India has retaliated for deep strikes throughout Pakistan, as it struck the air bases and facilities, including the Holly Base of Air Force in the Sindh district, which targets the fastest -fastest sounding Barhmus missile developed by India and Russia.
After the four -day conflict on May 10 ended with a ceasefire, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India “only stopped its military action against Pakistan.
In his first speech after stopping the fighting, Modi said that his country “will not tolerate nuclear extortion” and added that the Indian government will not distinguish between governments that support “terrorist groups” and “terrorist groups”.
Ahmed said that ARFC was partly aimed at facing “this new deterrence from” escalating deterrence “(from India), which seeks to exploit the gaps that are in the traditional revenge ladder of Pakistan.”
Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine has always been essential in its defensive position, and has been focused for years on developing tactical nuclear weapons arsenal.
Tactical nuclear weapons consist of a low -term short -term nuclear weapons that are primarily aimed at using an opposition army in the battlefield, rather than medium to length weapons that can be used against strategic goals.
It is designed with the intention of deterring any widespread Indian penetration. However, the conflict that took place in 2025 was the second time in six years, as the two countries reached the threshold of a possible nuclear escalation, after the tensions erupted in 2019 when Indian planes bombed Pakistani lands, claiming that they struck the fighter camps.
A former Pakistani government defense analyst said the missile force was designed to connect open gaps during the May War.
“When India used the BABUR Cruise missile in a traditional role, as it is only managed by the SPD command and the strategic forces of nuclear missions,” the analyst said.
Babur, also known as Hatf-7, is a missile with an absolute occurrence on the ground with a distance of 700 km (435 miles), and has been operated since 2010, but is still linked to the Pakistani nuclear doctrine.
The analyst said: “The creation of a new missile force confirms the shortcomings in the current nuclear position, which relied on the tactical nuclear weapons to deter India from attacking Pakistan.”
“The conflicts in 2019 and 2025 clearly found that India has found ways to circumvent nuclear deterrence in Pakistan. Now, the power of traditional fire is needed to cover the lands of India and overcome missile defenses,” he added.
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