Pakistani defence expert stresses need to resolve disputes with India

Islamabad: A senior Pakistani defence expert on Wednesday stressed the need to resolve the disputes with India, warning that ending a crisis without addressing its root causes only sets the stage for a more dangerous confrontation.

"Terminating a crisis without addressing its root causes only sets the stage for the next, more dangerous conflict," Gen (retd.) Zubair Mahmood Hayat, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, said at an event hosted by the Strategic Vision Institute, a think tank based in Islamabad.

The retired general stressed that the resolution of the Kashmir issue and restoration of the Indus Water Treaty were essential for peace, according to a statement issued by the institute.


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Referring to the May 2025 conflict between Pakistan and India, he said the conflict underscored the limits of relying on deterrence alone to prevent future confrontations.

"The larger lesson is not that conflict between two nuclear-armed neighbours can be made routine; it is that there is no tested and certified safe space for war," he said.

He warned that any future crisis could unfold under different circumstances, involving new technologies, different political leaders and significantly compressed decision-making timelines, increasing the risk of miscalculation and unintended escalation.

He said South Asia remained short of lasting peace because it lacked an inclusive regional security framework, effective crisis management mechanisms and sustained political dialogue. "The region lives between deterrence that prevents the worst and disputes that repeatedly regenerate danger," he said.

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Zubair also said unverified allegations could trigger a major conflict before governments had established the facts and warned that a future conflict could begin through an accident rather than a deliberate decision by a state.