A matter of interest: India on Pak's new military doctrine

NEW DELHI: India today reacted guardedly to Pakistan Army's new military doctrine that described homegrown militant groups and internal dangers as the biggest threat to the country's security.

This is seen as a paradigm shift as for decades the Pakistan Army has focused on perceived danger from India.

"It is a Pakistani assessment, which is not for us to comment upon. There are many analysts and interlocutors from around the world who have been saying this in public and talking to Pakistanis about it," a senior government source said on condition of anonymity.

The source added "If that assessment is one that Pakistan has arrived on its own, it is a matter of interest".

Eleven years after it became involved in the US-led war against terrorism, the Pakistan Army, in a paradigm shift, has introduced changes its operational priorities for the first time and the new doctrine describes the ongoing guerrilla war in the tribal belt and along the western border with Afghanistan and bomb attacks by militant groups as the greatest threat.

The new doctrine, running into over 200 pages, does not specifically link the threat from homegrown militant groups to any sort of shift from the Pakistan Army's earlier focus on India.

However, security analysts say it amounted to a paradigm shift.