Threat Matrix ( database ) The Threat Matrix is an intelligence - based measure and thorough assessments database program that Pakistan government officials and military science circles use for evaluating perceived external and internal threats which challenge the national security of Pakistan . Development began in 2011 under the government of Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani . The program identifies the military ' s operational priorities and goes beyond in comprehensively describing both existential and non - existential threats to the country . The Threat Matrix program is viewed to become a permanent fixture of the national security policy of Pakistan . The database ' s comprehensive existence was revealed by political scientist , Dr . Farrukh Saleem in his work published in " The News International " in 2013 , though it was earlier mentioned by the ISPR in a press briefing given to media . In his published thesis , Dr . Saleem critically opined that the source of all existential threats has always been a state actor ( s ) , not a non - state one – the armed forces . Program overview . Conventional threats vs . sub - conventional threats . The Threat Matrix has two defined dimensions : conventional threats and sub - conventional threats . Conventional threats define external threats to national security emanating from outside the country , while sub - conventional threats refer to internal threats to national security originating from within the country . In January 2013 , Major - General Asif Salim of the Inter - Services Public Relations ( ISPR ) briefed the news media on new recent studies conducted by Pakistan military . According to the ISPR , the armed forces were programmed for conventional warfare but the current situation necessitated change as the Forces fighting on the front - line in the tribal regions are now being program according to the requirements of sub - conventional warfare . In an interview military scientist , Talat Masood noted that before the new doctrine , India was was viewed as " No . 1 enemy " , but for the first time it has been realised that Pakistan faces the real threat from within – a threat which is concentrated in areas along western borders . The conflict in the northwest is closely tied with the War in Afghanistan , with factors like militant insurgency and future U . S . pullout in Afghanistan having an intertwined effect on the conflict in Pakistan . According to Lieutenant - General Khalid Rabbani , commander of the XI Corps in Peshawar , the withdrawal of foreign combat troops from Afghanistan post - 2014 may trigger some challenging ramifications for Pakistan in terms of the threat matrix of Afghanistan : " If they are leaving and giving a notion of success to the Taliban of Afghanistan , this notion of success may have a snowballing effect on to the threat matrix of Afghanistan . " Simultaneously with the challenges posed at the western front , India still retains an important focus in threat assessments and Pakistan ' s civil - military foreign policy doctrine . According to an " Express Tribune " editorial , the potential threat of arch rival India in the east has an effect on the state ' s threat matrix on the western front too : " The dwindling capacity of the state to cope with terrorism is owed to Pakistan ’ s ‘ vigilance ’ on the eastern border from where Pakistan ’ s static ‘ threat matrix ’ expects India to attack and occupy Pakistan because it never accepted the creation of Pakistan . " Harsh V . Pant of " Outlook India " opines that Pakistan ' s fast - growing nuclear arsenal ( expanding at a greater rate than India ' s ) during a charged sociopolitical atmosphere in the country is rapidly changing the dynamics of the nuclear matrix of the region , and tactically underscores the Pakistani military establishment ' s " India - centric threat matrix . " Debates and rational thesis . According to J . Berkshire Miller of " The Diplomat " , " The military establishment in Pakistan , meanwhile , still views its Threat Matrix through an India - centric lens — Pakistan genuinely believes , rightly or wrongly , that India continues to work aggressively against its strategic interests through bribery and espionage in Afghanistan . " In his comprehensive thesis , " " Minimum Deterrence : Pakistan ’ s Dilemma " " , published at the Royal United Services Institute ( RUSI ) by the nuclear strategist and theorist Brigadier - General ( retired ) Feroz Hassan Khan states that " Pakistan ' s Threat Matrix dramatically changed " after the events of the 1971 war and India ' s nuclear bomb test in 1974 . The country ' s threat perception became " dominated by the twin threat of India ' s conventional force superiority and nuclear weapons capability " , following which " the acquisition of nuclear weapons hence became Pakistan ' s highest national security objective , with unanimity across all parts of the political spectrum . This was augmented by the strong perception that outside powers could not be relied upon in moments of crisis and war . " The term also has economic connotations . For instance , U . S . Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined the downturn of the global financial crisis and its effect on Pakistan especially in the context of the war against militancy : " this economic crisis , left unresolved , will create massive unemployment . It will upend governments , it will , unfortunately , breed instability . . . I appreciated putting that into the context of the Threat Matrix , because look at Pakistan , a country that we know has to be stabilized for the benefit of not only South Asia , but beyond . " Military exercise and programming . In June 2013 , the Pakistan Armed Forces started a joint - war game exercise codenamed " " Azm - i - Nau IV " " in which the aim was to update the military ' s " readiness strategy for dealing with the complex security threat environment . " The objective of the exercise was to assess military tactics , procedures and techniques in the event of an emerging threat environment , and explore joint operations strategies in response to combating the threat through all three branches of the military : the Army , Air Force and Navy . The exercise took place amid renewed fears of the situation in Afghanistan post - withdrawal of coalition forces in 2014 , as well as the " continuing internal threat of terrorism and India ’ s growing regional ambitions . " The newspaper " Dawn " reported : " A senior military official said [ the ] war games were meant for coming up with a comprehensive response to all threats . He explained that the threat matrix was evolving and transforming . It includes both the internal challenge from terror groups of various shades and the conventional threat of external aggression . " Beginning in 2009 , the Azm - i - Nau exercises are aimed at preempting India ' s Cold Start doctrine and improving a joint armed forces response to any conventional threat . Scope . In a work published by dr . Farrukh Saleem , the current Threat Matrix has five major elements : military ; nuclear ; terrorism ; cyber and economic . According to Saleem , the first two threats , the military and the nuclear , are existential in nature in the sense that the threats posed by them threaten the " very basis of the state and its physical existence . " Existential threats essentially threaten the " unity , demography and integrity " of a nation - state , Pakistan . The last three threats , terrorism , cyber and economic , are non - existential in nature because these threats are asymmetric in sense between belligerents who possess " unequal military resources and the weaker opponent uses unconventional weapons and tactics to exploit the vulnerabilities of the enemy . " Another political analyst , Zaid Hamid writes that Threat Matrix program was created in aim to take build an effort against four combined threats including the 4GW , the idea of Af - Pak and Cold start doctrines . The government and military science officials describing the Threat Matrix program as legally and morally sound when a recent joint military exercises were conducted to rapidly respond to the threat matrix , which falls in the category of low - intensity conflict being confronted in some areas of the country . Soon after the revelation of the program to international media by the ISPR , the international media quoted the change of policy as in what is being seen as a " paradigm shift " in the country ' s policy . However on the other hand , Pakistani political science scholar , Ghazi Salahuddin , remains uncertain if this can be described as a " paradigm shift . "