Indian Fourth Generation Warfare and Pakistan’s Response

With the start of 21st century, warfare has changed fundamentally. In the Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW), military does not have the sole decisive utility, here war is waged with means other than military. In the fourth generation warfare, war is not amongst the people, it is a war of the people. The paper argues that due to divergent strategic interests, hegemonic tendencies, geopolitical competition and unresolved conflicts, India has adopted a sustained policy of violence to bring chaos in Pakistan. From Sundar Ji Doctrine of 1980s to current Modi-Doval Doctrine, India is pursuing a strategy of keeping Pakistan bleeding through thousand cuts. Indian effort to train, nurture and equip separatist and dissident elements in Pakistan is not a hidden secret after the Kalbushan Jadav testimony on media. This paper is an attempt to find the answer of the questionthat how India has waged a 4GW against Pakistan and how Pakistan has responded to it? For this enquiry, qualitative research methodology with more focus on document analysis based on secondary literature surveys has been employed. The theoretical framework of this study is based on the constructs of realism. This study concludes that Pakistan Armed Forces have been successfulto control the ravages of this warfare but the govt. needs to work on those vulnerable areas which could further be used by India to extend its interests in the country

Sino-US Rivalry in the South China Sea: A Hegemonic Stability Theory Perspective

This article is written in the background of the growing Sino-US rivalry in the SCS dispute. It discusses the political, military, and economic initiatives of these countries to save their interests in the region. The South China Sea has become the center of Asia Pacific politics in specific and global politics in general. Its geostrategic importance and huge resources have attracted the attention of world powers in this region. China, the regional hegemon, claims the SCS region as its core interest and provides the basis to its claims based on historical usage and a part of the ancient Chinese dynasties. Though the US is a non-resident state in this dispute its defense relations with other claimant states, its long-term interests in this region, and increasing political and military rivalry with emerging superpower China, all these factors have forced the US to play a significant role in this dispute. This research tries to find out the answer to the research puzzle about the factors behind the growing rivalry between the US and China in the SCS. The research has employed qualitative methodology within the post-positivist paradigm. The study is conducted under the lens of Hegemonic Stability Theory. This study concludes that the prevailing situation in the SCS would further get hot if either side behaves assertively to secure interests in the region. The conclusion suggests that peace could only be achieved if both countries show patience and solve this issue through multilateral negotiations

Territorial Dispute with China and Japan in the East China Sea on Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands

The claims of China and Japan on Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands have made East China Sea a centre of global attention. This East China Sea issue is getting international attention due to the strategic agreement between US and Japan. This agreement enables US Navy to establish bases and patrol in the disputed area. China has shown deep concerns on such agreement. China perceives it a territorial threat to her sovereignty. The rich natural resources of island have urged both nations to claim it as theirs. Both nations claim that these islands are their integral part. This claim is supported by historical evidences from both sides. Also both countries want to establish a strong strategic position in Asia-Pacific region. The role of international Law will also be important to resolve this conflict

Strategic Maritime Environment in Indian Ocean: Challenges and Opportunities for Pakistan

Pakistan naval forces are well organized and strong enough to maintain its defense and border security against any kind of naval aggression. The purpose of this essay is to describe all the possible challenges and opportunities faced by Pakistan in Indian Ocean. Moreover, there is a tripolar interest of US, China and India in the Ocean. The major interest of these states in Indian Ocean is due to its huge significance, immense natural assets, trade and world connectivity.Pakistan with the help of China, is going towards the stairs of success through Gwadar port, which can provide a gateway to Asian states and other world. No doubt, Pakistan’s navy is performing well and trying their best to deal with the situation in the Indian Ocean. Furthermore, chances of success and opportunities never have an ending point for anyone. So Pakistan should always further search these opportunities and utilize them in an appropriate manner

Use of Rape as Weapon against Women by Indian Forces in Occupied Kashmir: A Securitization Perspective

This article is based on the argument that the Indian forces are using rape as a weapon against women in the disputed territory of Kashmir to eliminate the freedom struggle of Muslim population. According to different surveys and reports, more than 11 thousand women have been gang-raped and molested in occupied Kashmir by the Indian forces. The security forces are continuously exercising this weapon of sexual warfare on women as a punishment. The triggering force behind this tactic of sexual abuse is the ideology of Hindutva. Under this ideology, current Indian regime is trying to change the secular status of India into a Hindu State. The Modi government is supporting communal violence on minorities for its political purposes. So, the minority community in India in general and the Muslims in disputed territory of Kashmir in specificare facing state oppression at large. Minorities like the Muslims and the Christians are being termed as “threatening and hostile other” in India. This study investigates how India is securitizing the Kashmir conflict by enforcing sexual assaults against women through its security forces? Secondly, it also tries to find that answer of why the use of rape and sexual abuse are justified as a potent weapon by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir? A large number of security forces have been deployed in Kashmir to suppress the Kashmiri freedom struggle. The security forces are exercising mass rape as a weapon in Kashmir to curb their right to self-realization. Such growing sexual practices have adverse impacts on the physical and mental health of women. In the end, we conclude that such inhumane policies not only undermine the social fiber of the Kashmiricommunity but also it will disrupt the peace of the whole of Southeast Asia

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Significance of Soft Power for Pursuing Foreign Policy Objectives

Soft power has become one of the most important determinants of foreign policy in the 21st century. It is a capability whereby people of one state get attached to the values, ideologies, culture, political system, or sports of other state in such a way that they view that state emotionally rather than rationally. This paper delves into the extent to which soft power is effective in today‟s international system vis-a-vis hard power. Furthermore, it looks into the question that to what extent, soft power of Pakistan contributes to its overall national power. This study has employed broader framework of liberalism to address this research. This study is conducted under the qualitative research methodology with more focus on documentary analysis. The theoretical and conceptual framework revolves around the image of soft power propounded by Joseph Nye. Multilateralism is the striking features of current day politic of the world. In such scenario, soft power has become the important component of national power and states use it to pursue their national interests. Developed and fastdeveloping states are relying more on their soft image building and less on their militaries. Peaceful rise of China in 21st century is the most pertinent example in this regard. Though soft power is largely determined by the factors beyond governments‟ control yet it has a role in taking an initiative and making soft power a state-polic

Foucauldian Panopticon: A Model for U.S. Cyber Surveillance

Unlike the conventional means of surveillance in the past, cyber surveillance hasbecome a great security tactic due to being technologically advanced, ungoverned and holistic in scope. In context of contemporary international relations, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are using the components of information warfare to serve their strategic interests. The internationally competitive trends of information technology and surveillance make U.S. more concerned about its national security and defeating the information warfare threat. Being a global leader, U.S. is constantly developing its cyber capabilities to contain the rise of China.On account of persistent threat perception of cyber intrusions from China, U.S. has been using cyber surveillance as a counter measure. U.S has integrated its cyber capabilities with military operations in the form of aerial, land and naval surveillance to ensure its national security. The present research aims to explore that how cyber surveillance has become an indispensable component of U.S. defense strategy? Michel Foucault’s surveillance theory has been used as a foundation of the study to analyze the implication of surveillance and power in context of U.S. defense policy. The study used qualitative content analysis and furthermore, directed approach has been used. The research is mainly bifold; initially it endeavors to analyze U.S. national strategies within the timeframe of 2015-2020 and subsequently discussesU.S. cyber surveillance capabilities, using the lens of Foucauldian panopticon

Indian Hybrid War against Pakistan: A Strategic Theory Perspective

Hybrid warfare proposes the idea of integration of various domains of warfare to create uniqueness in the domain of warfare strategies. Developments in the technological spheres have given rise to hybrid models in contemporary world. With the evolving mechanism and particular developments, international security has also experienced the hybrid model of warfare. The integrated model of hybrid warfare came to the twenty first century‟s world, which has also inspired the fanatic regime of India to impose it on Pakistan. Hybrid warfare has been waged against Pakistan to balkanize it into various segments by exploiting its vulnerabilities. This study tries to find the answer of how India is using hybrid warfare against Pakistan and what kinds of policy options are available to Pakistan to deal with this? The study is being conducted under the lens of strategic theory. To find the answer of the research question, qualitative research methodology with more focus on its documentary analysis has been employed. The study concludes that India is using conventional and un-conventional means to destabilize Pakistan and trying to undermine the growing importance of Pakistan in the regional dynamics. Pakistan needs to understand security challenges being posed by Indian Hybrid Warfar