‘Kashmir crisis caused by Indian legislative terror’

Islamabad : As the lock-down imposed by the Indian government in the occupied Kashmir entered 135th day on Tuesday, the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute University hosted a round table conference here to discuss the crisis in the disputed territory and the region.

According to the speakers, the Indian advances in the nuclear and missile technology coupled with its expanding military have weakened the already fragile deterrence balance in the region and challenged the foundation of strategic stability in South Asia based on the notion of war prevention.

They also blamed the Indian defence agreements and strategic partnerships with the US and Israel for instability in South Asia and insisted said the defence exchanges had further strengthened the aggressive posture of India vis-à-vis Pakistan and occupied Kashmir.

The speakers said transformation in India’s conventional and nuclear doctrines and force postures were posing serious implications for the regional as well as global security and affect the deterrence equilibrium in South Asia.

The event began with Director General and Chairperson of the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI) University Dr Maria Sultan calling the current happenings in the occupied Kashmir an act of legislative terror on part of India.

She briefly highlighted the current Kashmir situation and its implications on firstly the Kashmiri people and then the region at large.

Minister for Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur highlighted the struggle of the Kashmiri people for the right to self-determination and said the actions of the Indian state had increased significantly after the August 5 revocation of the special status of Kashmir.

Former national security advisor General (r) Nasir Khan Janjua said India aimed to ‘keep the war alive’ even with the nuclear overhang by low-intensity conflict and that it had the mentality of ‘might is right’ towards the occupied Kashmir.

The first session of the conference themed ‘the Kashmir Dispute and Future Implications of War’ was moderated by Lt-General (r) Naeem Khalid Lodhi, who said though the people were discussing future implications of war in the region, the war was already on.

Former foreign secretary and director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary highlighted the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Indian-occupied Kashmir due to long-drawn lock-down.

Former Chief of Air Staff and President of the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies Air Chief Marshal (r) Kaleem Saadat highlighted how air power plays a vital role in contemporary warfare and gave the examples of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He warned that the Indian advancement in acquiring more advanced jets and missiles would ultimately drag Pakistan into another arms race.

Vice Admiral (r) Khan Hasham Bin Saddique emphasized the importance of India’s naval modernization and its implications for Pakistan and how the world powers do have a strategic interest in Kashmir in order to further contain China.

Former Multan corps commander Lt-Gen (r) Sikander Afzal talked about pre-emption through counter-terrorism-led operations and the implications for conventional deterrence.

The second session of the conference moderated by head of the Defence and Strategic Studies Department, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Dr. Shabana Fayyaz focused on India’s military and nuclear doctrinal changes and risks for deterrence stability.

Among speakers were former ambassador Abdul Basit, QAU Professor Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, and head of Strategic Studies Department at the National Defence University Dr. Zulfiqar Khan.

Concluding the session, research fellow at the SASSI University Sarmad Ali Khan highlighted the importance of cyber warfare and the debate of nuclear safety and security and the case of India’s Kudan Kulam nuclear power plant.