At the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, held from late May to early June 2025, top military officials from India and Pakistan—Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza—engaged in a sharp exchange of warnings and rhetoric, reflecting the heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. 

The forum, recognised as Asia’s premier defence summit, provided a rare platform for both sides to articulate their positions following a brief but intense military confrontation triggered by the April 22 terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Pakistan, however, denied any involvement.

General Anil Chauhan, addressing the assembly, pointedly referenced Operation Sindoor—India’s military response launched on May 7, 2025, targeting nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack. Chauhan asserted, “What India has done, politically, they have drawn a new red line of intolerance against terror.”

He elaborated, “I hope this particular operation, it is basically lying in military domain, that should bring about some lessons for our adversary also, and hopefully they learn that this is a limit of India's tolerance.” Chauhan underscored India’s two-decade-long struggle against proxy warfare and terrorism, emphasising the heavy human toll and expressing a firm resolve to end this cycle.

General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, representing Pakistan, countered with a call for moving beyond conflict management to genuine conflict resolution, warning that the absence of such a mechanism could lead to destructive escalation. During a panel on regional crisis-management mechanisms, Mirza stressed, “It has become imperative to move beyond conflict management towards conflict resolution. This will ensure sustainable peace and assured crisis management.”

He reiterated Pakistan’s longstanding position on Kashmir, stating that an “early resolution of Kashmir (issue) in line with the UN Security Council resolutions and as per the aspirations of the people is essential” for enduring peace in South Asia. Mirza warned that the threshold for conventional warfare between the two countries had degraded significantly, raising the risk of rapid escalation and limiting the window for international intervention.

Mirza further argued that India’s growing stature as a “net security provider,” bolstered by Western support, was disincentivising New Delhi from engaging in meaningful crisis-management mechanisms. He cautioned that “the threshold of an escalatory war has come dangerously low, implying greater risk on both sides, not just in the disputed territory but all of India and all of Pakistan.” Mirza also highlighted the role of international interlocutors—including the US, UK, Turkey, China, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—in facilitating de-escalation during the recent crisis.

The recent military confrontation, which saw India launch Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam attack, ended on May 10 with both sides agreeing to halt military actions. However, the public exchange at the Shangri-La Dialogue underscored the persistent volatility and deep-seated mistrust between India and Pakistan, with both sides drawing clear red lines and warning of the consequences should those lines be crossed.

The dialogue also brought into sharp relief the centrality of the Kashmir issue in bilateral relations and the urgent need for sustainable conflict resolution mechanisms to prevent further escalation.

Based On A PTI Report