1. Outer space has transformed into a critical arena of astropolitics, where major powers are leveraging space technologies to shape global influence, gain strategic advantages, and contest dominance beyond Earth. The accelerating shift from space militarisation to weaponisation has challenged long-held assumptions about space as a peaceful domain. The pursuit of advanced counter-space capabilities by leading space powers has introduced new risks to global stability, with implications that extend across regions, institutions, and security frameworks.
2. Dr Ahmad Khan’s book, Sabre Rattling in Space: A South Asian Perspective, deconstructs traditional security narratives to demonstrate how the development of offensive space capabilities is driving a dangerous paradigm shift. The book underscores how escalating strategic distrust between the United States and China has intensified the race for space supremacy, driving both states to expand offensive and defensive space capabilities. This competitive rivalry has produced a ripple effect that is increasingly visible at the regional level, particularly in South Asia.
3. The book emphasises the space security trilemma between Pakistan, China, and India and its implications for South Asia. For Pakistan, this evolving environment necessitates strengthened institutional capacity, secure and resilient space capabilities, and active engagement in norm-building to safeguard its strategic interests and regional stability:
(a) Global trends in space militarisation and their implications for South Asian security dynamics
(b) The role of space-based capabilities in shaping national security, and the risks posed by India’s expanding military space posture to regional stability
(c) Weaknesses in space governance frameworks, and the resulting challenges for norm development and crisis management
(d) Pakistan’s strategic priorities and policy pathways for ensuring secure, sustainable, and responsible utilisation of outer space
