{"id":86048,"date":"2025-09-16T17:52:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T12:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/?p=86048"},"modified":"2025-09-16T17:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T12:52:13","slug":"irs-csspr-unveil-major-work-on-regional-deterrence-and-escalation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/pakistan\/irs-csspr-unveil-major-work-on-regional-deterrence-and-escalation\/","title":{"rendered":"IRS, CSSPR unveil major work on regional deterrence and escalation"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: The Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), Islamabad, in collaboration with the Center for Security Strategy and Policy Research (CSSPR), has launched a landmark edited volume titled \u201cStrategic Reckoning: Perspectives on Deterrence and Escalation Post-Pahalgam<\/a> \u2013 May 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

The high-profile event brought together diplomats, experts, scholars, journalists, senior officials and students.<\/p>\n

Edited by Dr. Rabia Akhtar, the volume provides a comprehensive analysis of the May 2025 crisis\u2014widely regarded as one of the most dangerous confrontations in South Asia in decades.<\/p>\n

The contributors examine the fragility of deterrence, the risks posed by compressed escalation timelines, and the catastrophic consequences narrowly averted.<\/p>\n

The book underscores how Pakistan, despite grave provocations, exercised restraint and employed calibrated responses to prevent further escalation. Collectively, the work challenges the normalization of abnormal conflict dynamics.<\/p>\n

The Chief Guest, Information Minister Ata Tarar, commended the publication as an essential resource for understanding the May 2025 military clash between Pakistan and India.<\/p>\n

\u201cI commend IRS, CSSPR, and the distinguished contributors of this volume for producing such a timely and thoughtful work on a subject of immense importance for our region.<\/p>\n

Strategic Reckoning is not just an academic contribution but a vital reflection on one of the most dangerous crises South Asia has faced in recent history,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Jauhar Saleem, President IRS, argued that India\u2019s coercive policies towards its neighbors\u2014including Nepal and Sri Lanka\u2014fuel instability in South Asia and weaken regional institutions such as SAARC, which could have become a vehicle for fostering regional cooperation and prosperity, but for India\u2019s hubris and hegemonic designs.<\/p>\n

He cautioned that India\u2019s quest for strategic dominance risks diplomatic isolation and long-term setbacks to its own interests.<\/p>\n

Lt. Gen. Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, Advisor, National Command Authority, emphasized Pakistan\u2019s tri-services\u2019 readiness, operational proficiency, and the establishment of the Army Rocket Force Command as evidence of a credible deterrence posture.<\/p>\n

He underscored India\u2019s military shortcomings, Pakistan\u2019s measured response, and the broader geopolitical implications, concluding that Pakistan had successfully restored deterrence and strategic equilibrium through coordinated tri-service operations.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Masood Khan, former President of AJK, identified the Pahalgam attack as a critical flashpoint, highlighting the enduring centrality of the Kashmir dispute to regional instability. He warned that neglecting Kashmiri grievances would perpetuate recurring crises.<\/p>\n

Dr. Rabia Akhtar, the editor, characterized the May 2025 crisis as a perilous destabilization of deterrence, where India sought to impose a \u2018new normal\u2019 of pre-emptive strikes. She argued that this behavior must instead be recognized as a \u2018new abnormal,\u2019 deviating from established crisis management practices under nuclear conditions.<\/p>\n

She underscored Pakistan\u2019s calibrated retaliation as an exemplar of responsible deterrence in contrast to India\u2019s imprudent adventurism, cautioning against normalizing brinkmanship.<\/p>\n

Khalid Banuri, former DG Arms Control and Disarmament, SPD, analyzed the Pakistan Air Force\u2019s (PAF) performance, detailing its rapid mobilization, neutralization of Indian strikes, and demonstration of air superiority through precise counter-air operations.<\/p>\n

He stressed that PAF\u2019s measured yet resolute actions undermined India\u2019s coercive objectives, showcasing the high costs of escalation.<\/p>\n

Dr. Salma Malik, Associate Professor at QAU, highlighted the adverse spillover effects of such crises on regional actors beyond India and Pakistan, noting economic disruptions, refugee flows, and heightened security risks.<\/p>\n

She called for multilateral crisis management frameworks to give smaller regional states a voice and distribute the burden of maintaining peace.<\/p>\n

Leading Defense Analyst Ejaz Haider examined the role of Indian media in shaping conflict narratives during the May 2025 crisis.<\/p>\n

He highlighted how sensationalism, misinformation, and triumphalist propaganda framed the conflict as spectacle, fueling domestic escalation pressures, distorting realities, and obstructing accountability.<\/p>\n

He warned that narrative warfare can exacerbate military crises.<\/p>\n

The book launch generated significant interest, attracting a large audience of intelligentsia, scholars, journalists, diplomats, government officials, and students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: The Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), Islamabad, in collaboration with the Center for Security Strategy and Policy Research (CSSPR), has launched a landmark edited volume titled \u201cStrategic Reckoning: Perspectives on Deterrence and Escalation Post-Pahalgam \u2013 May 2025.\u201d The high-profile event brought together diplomats, experts, scholars, journalists, senior officials and students. Edited by Dr. Rabia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":86049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[31218,31217],"class_list":["post-86048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan","tag-csspr","tag-irs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86048"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86050,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86048\/revisions\/86050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}