New doctrine inspired by US-Israel war tactics: How Indian Army plans to read Asim Munir's mind to outsmart Pakistan

A man sits beside a poster featuring Pakistani Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, along a road in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, on May 14, 2025.

In a significant strategic shift, the Indian Army has begun adopting cutting-edge war doctrines inspired by the United States and Israel to outmaneuver adversaries like Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, a top-ranking Indian military officer told news agency ANI.

The move reflects a growing emphasis on psychological and information warfare, going beyond traditional combat strategies to focus on understanding how enemy leadership thinks and plans.

“This is what the Americans do, the Israelis do. We are also now using such war tactics to understand what the enemy is thinking, how the enemy is functioning, how the enemy's top leadership is behaving, how it is thinking. This is the way forward,” said the senior Army officer, quoted anonymously by ANI.

The officer’s remarks come at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following India's cross-border Operation Sindoor in May, and amid concerns over Pakistan’s internal instability spilling across borders. The military leadership now aims to pre-emptively counter threats by closely analysing behavioural and cognitive patterns of enemy commanders, with a special focus on Munir, known for his intelligence background and covert operations experience.

“The adversary’s reaction, including political and diplomatic responses, are being evaluated thoroughly,” the officer added, noting that these insights are being integrated into battlefield preparation.

Military experts say this change is aligned with how top global defence forces operate in the 21st century. Both the US and Israeli militaries are known for deploying behavioural science, artificial intelligence, and human intelligence to decode enemy intentions and mount precise operations that disrupt command and control systems of hostile actors.

For India, such a shift is also a recognition that in the hybrid warfare era, hard power alone is not sufficient. Intelligence-led targeting, perception management, and influencing enemy calculations are increasingly seen as critical tools of statecraft.

The shift also comes amid broader concerns over Pakistan’s internal instability, economic decline, and its military establishment’s growing desperation to divert attention from domestic crises. By focusing on understanding and preempting Pakistan’s military psyche, especially under General Munir, the Indian Army aims to maintain strategic superiority while denying space for another Pulwama or Pahalgam-style attack.

The senior officer’s comments signal that this doctrine will be central to future Indian military planning, not just in terms of how to strike, but when and why.