The Information Service Academy (ISA) organized a strategic dialogue titled “India's Aggression and Pakistan's Strategic Response: Contemplating Future Course of Action” at the Information Service Academy (ISA) Auditorium, Islamabad. The event brought together senior military officials, diplomats, scholars, and students to examine and discuss evolving regional security dynamics and Pakistan’s strategic outlook.
In her opening remarks, Ms. Imrana Wazir, Executive Director General, ISA welcomed the distinguished participants and emphasized the need for informed discourse amid heightened tensions in South Asia. She highlighted Pakistan’s potential and underscored the importance of collective intellectual engagement to address future challenges.
The dialogue featured a keynote address by former Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General (R) Zubair Mehmood Hayat, Guest of Honour, who discussed strategic lessons from recent regional developments. He stressed the importance of vigilance, deterrence, and strategic prudence, noting that sustainable peace must be supported by credible security preparedness. “India’s strategic assumptions have proved erroneous”, he added. He opined that India failed to impose a new normal. He emphasized that India must abandon Operation Sindoor and change track towards diplomacy, realism and restraint.
Subsequent speakers, including former Corpse Commander General (R) Khalid Rabbani, former foreign secretaries Mr. Jauhar Saleem and Mr. Aizaz Ahmad, and President Sassi University Dr. Maria Sultan, shared perspectives on regional stability, military preparedness, air power capabilities, and diplomatic engagement. The speakers highlighted the changing regional landscape and emphasized the importance of calibrated military strength alongside proactive diplomacy.
An interactive question-and-answer session followed, with participation from students representing various universities who asked very pertinent questions on the topic from the panelists.
The dialogue concluded with closing remarks by the Executive Director General, who summarized key takeaways and reaffirmed confidence in Pakistan’s ability to navigate future security challenges through strategic foresight and prudent decision-making. She expressed that this was the first dialogue in the series of dialogue and similar dialogues would continue in the next six months on other insightful topics. She thanked the collaboration and support of Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) for making the event possible. She particularly thanked the officers and staff of ISA who worked hard to ensure timely arrangements of the dialogue.
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