A senior Pakistani defence expert has stressed the need for Pakistan and India to address their longstanding disputes, warning that merely ending a crisis without resolving its underlying causes risks paving the way for a more dangerous confrontation in the future.

Speaking at an event organised by the Strategic Vision Institute in Islamabad, former Chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat (Retd), said that bringing a crisis to a close without tackling its root causes only creates the conditions for another and potentially more severe conflict. He remarked: "Terminating a crisis without addressing its root causes only sets the stage for the next, more dangerous conflict."

Hayat argued that progress on the Kashmir issue and the restoration of the Indus Water Treaty were essential for achieving lasting peace and stability between the two neighbouring countries. He maintained that unresolved disputes continued to fuel tensions and undermine prospects for durable regional security.

Referring to the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025, he said the episode demonstrated the limitations of relying solely on deterrence as a means of preventing future confrontations. According to Hayat, the experience highlighted the dangers associated with recurring crises between two nuclear-armed states.

"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 cautioned that any future crisis could emerge under significantly different circumstances, shaped by evolving technologies, different political leaderships and increasingly compressed decision-making timelines. Such factors, he warned, could heighten the risk of miscalculation, accidental escalation and unintended consequences.

Hayat also argued that South Asia continues to fall short of lasting peace because it lacks an inclusive regional security architecture, effective crisis-management mechanisms and sustained political engagement. "The region lives between deterrence that prevents the worst and disputes that repeatedly regenerate danger," he said.

He further warned that unverified allegations could trigger a major confrontation before governments have sufficient time to establish the facts.

In addition, he noted that a future conflict might arise not from a deliberate state decision but from an accident or unforeseen incident, underscoring the fragility of regional stability and the importance of robust communication and crisis-management channels between the two countries.

ANI