The May 2025 Pakistan–India hostilities once again underscored the centrality of the Kashmir dispute to South Asia’s security and political landscape. The escalation highlighted that Kashmir remains a deeply destabilising conflict, with direct consequences for regional peace, strategic stability, and human security. Far from being a purely territorial dispute, Kashmir is a political and humanitarian issue rooted in the unfinished agenda of partition and the unfulfilled right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people, as recognised by the United Nations.
Recent years have witnessed significant shifts on the ground, particularly following India’s unilateral actions of August 2019, which are fundamentally altering the status quo in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Since then, the shrinking of political space, intensification of securitisation, and persistent human rights concerns have compounded the vulnerabilities of the Kashmiri population. The May 2025 hostilities have further exacerbated these conditions, reinforcing the human cost of prolonged conflict and the risks inherent in the continued militarisation of the dispute.
In the post-conflict environment, the crisis has exposed the limitations of episodic, crisis-driven diplomacy and the absence of sustainable mechanisms for conflict resolution. It has also highlighted the need for a recalibrated and forward-looking approach that places the Kashmiri people at the centre of policy discourse while adapting to a rapidly evolving regional and global order.
This webinar seeks to move beyond repetitive narratives and explore policy-relevant pathways for addressing Kashmir in the aftermath of the 2025 conflict. The discussion will focus on the following questions:
- What have been the impacts of the May 2025 hostilities on the Kashmiri population in IIOJK?
- How have India’s policies and actions in Kashmir shaped the lived experiences of the Kashmiri people?
- What diplomatic, legal, and political strategies can Pakistan pursue to enhance international engagement on the Kashmir dispute in the post-2025 conflict environment?
