The world in the year 2025 remains in flux and as complex as in previous years of the twenty-first century. The Russian–Ukrainian war is protracted. Europeans are more worried about their vital security and economic interests than ever before, despite some of them having the so-called nuclear umbrella within the NATO alliance. Although aspiring for a Nobel Peace Prize, the US under Donald Trump threatened Canada, Greenland, Venezuela, Mexico, and Panama.

The US, along with Israel, pre-empted Iranian nuclear facilities, attempting to obliterate its nuclear weapons programme. Today, there is much greater geopolitical and geostrategic pressure on Iran. Iran is being undermined and isolated. Many argue that its sphere of influence has been minimised. The chances for the proposed revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) remain slim.

In South Asia, India has been aspiring to power projection, the escalation of dominance, and regional hegemony through its increasing conventional and nuclear forces. With dangerous strategic confidence and under the pretext of terrorism, it opted for preventive strikes against Pakistan—once in 2019 and again in May 2025—risking serious military escalation to a nuclear level. This undermined the broader spirit of South Asian strategic stability.

That being noted, Pakistan continues to produce effective countermeasures under the auspices of Full-Spectrum Deterrence, falling within the ambit of Credible Minimum Deterrence. It aims to maintain balance, reduce the acute security dilemma,........

© The Friday Times