Implications of China-India standoff discussed

Islamabad : The NUST Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS), organised a webinar to examine the implications of ongoing China-India standoff on the security of the region and Pakistan here on Wednesday.

The virtual event was attended by former veteran diplomats, former senior military officials, academics, policy experts and eminent members of the think tank community.

The webinar was chaired by Rector NUST & Patron NIPS Lieutenant General (r) Naweed Zaman and moderated by Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, Director General NIPS and Principal NUST School of Social Sciences & Humanities. The participants unanimously opined that the current state of relations amongst major powers had turned the region into a critical zone for global peace and stability. Initiating the discussion, Ambassador Riaz Khokhar, former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, underpinned the imperative of peaceful and negotiated resolution of the dispute between the two nuclear-armed States over Ladakh.

Air Chief Marshal (r) Kaleem Saadat, former Chief of Air Staff and President Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), said that China was cognisant of Indian intentions, especially its hostile intent towards CPEC and Belt & Road Initiative, and that China was fully resolved to checkmate any hostile move by India. He advised that there was a need for overall preparedness to meet any adverse contingency in the region.

Abdul Basit, former High Commissioner of Pakistan to India stressed that the ongoing India-China standoff indicated that the resolution of Kashmir dispute required the involvement of a responsible major power like China.