Pakistan naval chief calls for tech-driven forces to tackle future conflicts
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf on Friday said future wars will be won not just through firepower but by forces that are intellectually and technologically superior, urging a strategic shift in how militaries prepare for evolving threats.
Speaking at the Pakistan Navy War College in Lahore, he pointed to recent Iran-Israel and Pakistan-India conflicts as examples of how warfare has changed.
Traditional dogfights and infantry movements were notably absent from these military standoffs, replaced by precision strikes, electronic and cyber warfare.
The shifting nature of these engagements, he said, underscores the need to rethink legacy doctrines and build forces fit for the future.
'The conventional, one-dimensional study of warfare is now outdated,' Ashraf told graduating officers of the 54th Pakistan Navy Staff Course. 'Winning future wars demands not only a re-evaluation of legacy warfighting strategies, but also the development and maintenance of a future-ready workforce that is intellectually astute and technologically proficient.'
Discussing the maritime challenges facing Pakistan, the naval chief said the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) was 'fluid and contested.'
He also highlighted that new geopolitical realignments and ongoing power rivalries in the region, saying they were affecting the security environment in the IOR.
Ashraf congratulated the graduates while encouraging them to be more analytical and innovative in their upcoming assignments.
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