Almost two decades have passed since the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests in May 1998. However, the expectation that after the overt nuclearization of South Asia would usher in an era of peace and stability, as India and Pakistan realize the futility of conflict and the disastrous consequences of a conflict under the nuclear shadow with the omnipresent possibility of escalation of the conflict to a nuclear exchange. Despite some early efforts at confidence building and conflict resolution, the dream of a stable and peaceful security and strategic environment in South Asia remains unfulfilled. In the absence of an overarching restraint regime and institutionalized crisis management mechanisms the strategic environment remains fragile. Strategic stability in South Asia is faced with a multitude of challenges including the threat posed by non-state actors, a volatile line of control in Kashmir, India’s build up and modernization of its conventional military forces and its provocative Cold Start War Doctrine and Pakistan’s adjustment /reaction to the threat it perceives. This conference in collaboration with the Atlantic Council Washington was aimed at addressing some of the most pressing issues impinging upon strategic stability in South Asia and to share some ideas to alleviate the problem with a view to arriving at some useful recommendations for the policy makers.
Media Coverage
The conference was covered both by print and electronic media. The links to newspapers stories are given below.
