Islamabad, May 6: The May 2025 conflict fundamentally altered the regional balance of power in South Asia by reasserting Pakistan’s credible conventional and strategic deterrence against India. This provided Pakistan with an opportunity to capitalize on this strategic momentum through economic resilience and proactive diplomacy in an increasingly polarized global order, in which two trends are emerging among nations: building national strength and collaborating with like-minded countries.

This was discussed during a session titled “Reassessing Global Order Post-May 2025 Pakistan-India War” at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), which brought together diplomats, strategic experts, security analysts, and academics to deliberate on the regional and global implications of the conflict. The speakers included Amb (r) Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, former foreign secretary; Khalid Rahman, chairman IPS; Amb (r) Syed Abrar Hussain, vice-chairman IPS; Farzana Yaqoob, former minister, AJK; Dr. Khuram Iqbal, associate professor, QAU; Brig (r) Said Nazir, security analyst; Dr. Asma Shakir Khawaja, executive director, CISS AJK; Dr. Waleed Rasool; executive director, IDDDS; and Zohaib Altaf, researcher at CISS AJK.

In his keynote address, Amb (r) Aizaz Ahmad observed that the events of May 2025 significantly reshaped the regional strategic calculus and enhanced Pakistan’s diplomatic and military confidence. He noted that the conflict demonstrated Pakistan’s ability to effectively employ a combination of conventional deterrence, diplomatic outreach, cyber capabilities, and information warfare in response to Indian aggression.

He highlighted that India........

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