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Guerilla Warfare
By
Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
The recent developments in Balochistan do give me a concern and I can’t dismiss easily working of some foreign hand(s) behind it all, with the specific designs and interest of their having a physical control over this most important strategic area. As they say, in international politics, there are no permanent friends or foes; only permanent interests, Pakistan must, therefore, protect at all costs its permanent interest and prepare itself to meet any eventuality arising from any quarter at any time.
In the event of all diplomacy failing and a physical incursion taking place by, say, a super power, let’s be honest and frank, even our A bomb can’t save us? Where would we use it? In our own country and on our own land?! We are also not in a position to give pitched and entrenched battles for long to the super power for which the Pakistan army is presently equipped and trained. The only option left with us to resist the aggression is to resort to the guerrilla warfare. But is our army or we as a nation trained and ready for it? Or, do we have the Vietnam jungles or the rugged hills of Afghanistan to carry on such struggle? The answer to these vital questions is an unfortunate NO. Our strategists and tacticians have, therefore, to think and think it hard too to devise ways and means for us to resort to Guerrilla Warfare if and when the need arises. They have to select now the areas and the terrain from where we could oper ate most effectively. How would our soldiers be transformed to fight without the support of the tanks, artillery and air, with only the small arms, grenades and mostly shoulder fired rockets? Each and every soldier might need to be trained in the use of the explosives and the IEDs. How would the entire fighting tactics be changed from pitched battles to ambush and hit and run tactics to inflict maximum casualties on the enemy? How would the initiative to select the target, the place and the timings of our own choosing to strike be retained in our own hands leaving the enemy to react only and in the process demoralise him highly? How would his long logistics tail be cut, disrupted, damaged and destroyed depriving and denying him of the most essential rations, ammunitions and fuel?
At the same time, how would own troops be trained to live-on-the-land by themselves or with the bare minimum logistics support? There are hundreds of other such considerations for the army to be trained in and trained now. Just to cite one example; the importance of communication between the commander and his men cannot be overemphasized for the success of any battle at any level. Now, what would be the means of tele-communications between the individual guerrillas and their small and big outfits? Enemy is known to have the capability of effecting a complete electronic blackout in a given theatre of operation. This could jam even the walkie talkies!! How would the orders be passed or the co-ordination within and between various guerrilla outfits effected in such an eventuality? Similarly, the nation as a whole is to be prepared to face a long drawn ordeal against the enemy by turning each one of them into a Citizen Soldier and People ’s Army. They are to be educated and trained to play their individual and collective roles in creating hurdles and making the life of the enemy unbearable for him in the cities, towns and villages. A very basic and simple way of doing that is to have complete non-cooperation with the enemy in all matters. There are thousands of things that an occupation force needs from the local populace apart from the vital intelligence about the guerrillas.
Guerrilla Warfare is the only way I can think of denying the occupation and physical control of the most strategically important area of Balochistan to those having an evil eye upon it. And deny we shall, Inshallah,.at all cost.
Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
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