CISS-KIU National Seminar on Strategic Landscape of South Asia: Post Pahalgam

The Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Islamabad, organized a national seminar in collaboration with CISS-KIU Research Center, Gilgit-Baltistan, titled “Strategic Landscape of South Asia: Post Pahalgam” The seminar aims to highlight contemporary issues on strategic matters with a focus on South Asia. The strategic landscape of South Asia is overrun by a complex interplay of military, political, and economic factors, owing to the strategic
interests of major powers including China, the United States (US) and Russia. The region’s instability has deepened due to the unresolved India-Pakistan conflict and the rapid expansion of India’s conventional and nuclear arsenals. The transfer of advanced military technologies from the West to India has undermined the stability of South Asia, amplified tensions and fueled an arms race in the region. This conventional superiority has been irresponsibly exploited by India against Pakistan, both in the wake of Pulwama and Pahalgam incidents. For a nuclear-armed state to exploit a terrorist attack on its soil as a pretext for launching an attack on another nuclear armed nation is not only reckless and unprecedented but also a profound disgrace to the norms of responsible statecraft. In the face of these disturbing developments, Pakistan’s nuclear program has successfully achieved the national security objectives to ensure regional peace and security. While Pakistan occupies a crucial geographical location, the Gilgit-Baltistan region in the far North holds exceptional strategic significance, serving as a pivotal area for regional security and connectivity. Given its ideal geostrategic location, its importance as a gateway to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and its vast reserves of strategic minerals, Gilgit-Baltistan is vital to Pakistan’s socio-economic development.