Overview
- Former Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan delivered the Govind Ballabh Pant lecture on Saturday, Sept. 5, and said the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement has appeared to induce a degree of overconfidence in Pakistan.
- Chauhan argued that Pakistan will remain a long-term security concern because nuclear deterrence creates a stability‑instability paradox that pushes Islamabad toward terrorism, proxy war and deniable sub‑conventional tactics.
- He said India must raise the cost of proxy warfare and keep forces ready, noting Operation Sindoor — led while he was CDS — is 'on pause' but not finished and requires sustained operational vigilance.
- Chauhan described China as a separate, more enduring challenge, pointing to an unresolved boundary and no mutually agreed Line of Actual Control as sources of ongoing friction and escalation risk.
- He warned future conflict will rely heavily on non‑kinetic tools such as information campaigns, cyber and space operations, and urged jointness, faster adaptation and national resilience; the August 7 pact has sharpened debate about regional alignments and possible second‑order effects on Pakistan’s behaviour.