For several years, Pakistan has ad­opted a very inward-looking ap­proach, naturally, due to politi­cal instability and economic meltdown. However, Pakistan cannot stay oblivious to the changing na­ture of South Asian geopoli­tics for a long time. Therefore, Pakistan needs to pay close attention to the region and re­visit its South Asia policy.

South Asia in the 21st century holds one of the prominent positions in international security due to the pres­ence of emerging economies, rapid pop­ulation growth, strategic proximity with various significant regions, and emerg­ing traditional & non-traditional securi­ty challenges. Each country of South Asia holds significance in terms of its econo­my, strategic location, and diplomatic re­lations with other South Asian states as well as major powers.

Historically, the predominant culture in the South Asian strategic environ­ment revolved around the ‘India-centric approach’. In this culture, the smaller South Asian states such as Nepal, Bhu­tan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and to some extent Bangladesh had to rely on their relationship with India. Likewise, for Pakistan developments in smaller South Asian states did not affect its security prism. Hence, Islamabad’s primary fo­cus was on New Delhi’s policies and its strategic approaches towards Pakistan. However, the rise of China as a dominant economic power and Beijing’s desire to increase its political and economic influ­ence on smaller South Asian states has changed the strategic prism for small­er South Asian states. The Chinese in­gress in South Asian affairs also led to an........

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