Round Table

The Future of Dialogue and Escalation Dynamics in a Nuclear South Asia

Date: October 14, 2019

Plans to take military action against Pakistan were demonstrated by a wide array of policy thinking in India, even before Modi entered the arena. To keep the conflict at bay Pakistan must demonstrate conventional capability and re-iterate its commitment to peace and human rights. Crisis management in Indo-Pak relations and the role of track-II dialogues during conflict was discussed at a closed door roundtable held at Jinnah Institute on 14th October 2019. The discussion was attended by Peter Jones from the University of Ottawa and leading policy specialists, as well as retired civil and military officials. The importance of track-II dialogues in creating understanding among key stakeholders was underscored, but it was agreed that substantial and long-lasting progress can be made only if governments are willing to engage in conflict management and de-escalation.