RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, on Tuesday warned that emerging cognitive and indirect threats pose serious challenges to national security, saying hostile elements increasingly employ proxies and ambiguous tactics to exploit internal fault lines, rather than overt confrontation.
Field Marshal Munir said this during a visit to the National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad, according to a statement issued by the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
During the visit, the Chief of Defence Forces was briefed by a panel of civil and military participants of the ongoing National Security and War Course on their academic perspective about challenges to national security and imperatives for overcoming them.
“Hostile elements increasingly employ indirect and ambiguous approaches, including the use of proxies to exploit internal fault lines, rather than overt confrontation,” Field Marshal Munir highlighted in his interaction on the occasion.
The Chief of Defence Forces stressed that future leaders must be trained and remain alert to recognize, anticipate, and counter such multi-layered cognitive challenges.
Field Marshal Munir outlined the complex and evolving global, regional, and internal security environment, emphasising that the South Asian country faces broad and persistent challenges.
He noted that these challenges span conventional, sub-conventional, intelligence, cyber, information, military, economic, and other domains, requiring comprehensive multi-domain preparedness, continuous adaptation, and synergy amongst all elements of national power.
The Chief of Defence Forces also highlighted that decision-making under uncertainty with clarity and intellectual resilience are critical attributes for operating in today’s contested and diffused security environment.
The Field Marshal lauded the National Defence University’s role as a premier institution in developing strategic thinkers capable of translating rigorous training and academic insight into effective policy formulation and operational outcomes.
He underscored that professional military education remains central to strengthening institutional capacity, fostering indigenous capability, and ensuring long-term national resilience.
Concluding his address, the Field Marshal appreciated the panels’ sharp analysis and conclusions and urged the participants to remain vigilant, adaptive, and steadfast in upholding the values of integrity, discipline, and selfless service.
Earlier, upon arrival at the university, the Chief of Defence Forces was warmly received by the President of the National Defence University.
