‘Shrinking space for diplomacy raising risks in South Asia’

Former Strategic Plans Division chief Lt Gen (retd) Mazhar Jamil has warned that diminishing diplomatic space and the increasing reliance on military power and new technologies pose significant risks to strategic stability in South Asia. At the seventh “Training of the Trainers” workshop on strategic matters, held in Islamabad, Gen Jamil highlighted that the global and regional strategic landscape is becoming increasingly complex, with persistent threat perceptions, unresolved disputes like Kashmir, and India’s military actions contributing to ongoing security tensions.

He emphasized that strategic stability is inextricably linked to political realities and stressed that any potential war between nuclear-armed states is unacceptable. Pakistani Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, on the other hand, highlighted Pakistan's growing status as a credible middle power in the evolving international order. He noted Pakistan's capacity for mediation, engagement, and partnership-building, which reflects the country's increasing strategic influence.

Both experts underscored the challenges posed by modernisation and diversification of nuclear and strategic capabilities, alongside emerging technologies in South Asia, which are reshaping the strategic environment and complicating efforts to reduce risks and prevent conflict.