Part Three
Asif Haroon Raja
An Appraisal of the Eight Decade Era
The cumulative record of American military interventions has produced mixed strategic outcomes. While some operations achieved immediate military objectives, many also left behind prolonged instability, humanitarian crises, displaced populations and weakened state institutions.
Many analysts believe that Washington failed to draw sufficient lessons from its experiences in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as from numerous unsuccessful covert operations.
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 was particularly damaging to American prestige. The rapid collapse of the Afghan government and the return of the Taliban contributed to the perception that the era of unquestioned American unipolar dominance was drawing to a close.
At the same time, China and Russia have emerged as increasingly influential strategic competitors, accelerating the transition towards a more multipolar international system.
Despite these developments, critics argue that Washington continues to rely excessively upon military power. They contend that confrontation with Iran risks becoming another costly strategic entanglement with uncertain prospects and diminishing returns.
Pakistan’s Strategic Rise
India’s military action against Pakistan in May 2025 proved to be a major strategic miscalculation from New Delhi’s perspective. It overestimated its strength and underestimated Pakistan. The four-day conflict challenged India’s image of military superiority and significantly enhanced Pakistan’s international standing.
Pakistan’s military performance and subsequent diplomatic handling of the crisis strengthened its image as a significant security provider and regional stabiliser in South Asia.
India has yet to fully recover from the strategic and psychological impact of the conflict and faces significant challenges in contemplating another major military confrontation with Pakistan, given the latter’s demonstrated operational preparedness.
Unable to achieve its objectives through direct confrontation, India has increasingly been relying upon proxy warfare, covert operations and other asymmetric means, including efforts to exploit Afghan territory against Pakistan.
At the same time, India’s internal challenges have become increasingly pronounced, including political polarisation, tensions surrounding Hindutva politics, student unrest and insurgencies in the northeastern “Seven Sisters” States.
Pakistan’s security forces, meanwhile, have continued to confront terrorism through sustained counterterrorism operations.
Islamabad has also undertaken cross-border kinetic actions against terrorist infrastructure when it has assessed that threats emanating from Afghan territory pose an unacceptable danger to Pakistan.
These operations have placed considerable pressure on the TTP, BLA and other militant networks, while also increasing tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban authorities in Kabul.
The Afghan Taliban government is simultaneously facing serious governance, economic and internal-security challenges.
Various resistance elements in Northern Afghanistan continue to oppose Taliban rule, while political and tribal rivalries have further complicated the regime’s efforts to consolidate its authority.
Pakistan’s military performance against a much larger India, coupled with its diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation during the US-Iran confrontation, has enhanced its international image as a bridge, mediator and security provider.
With the notable exception of some adversarial states and actors, Pakistan’s role has attracted growing recognition among Muslim countries, including Iran.
                                      To be concluded
About the Author
Brigadier (Retd) Asif Haroon Raja, SI (M) is a war veteran. He is Command and Staff Course and War Course qualified, holds an MSc in War Studies, and served as Defence Attaché in Egypt and Sudan, as well as Dean of the Corps of Military Attachés in Cairo.
He is a defence, security, and geopolitical analyst, columnist, featured columnist of IntelDrop magazine Washington, author of five books, former Chairman of Thinkers Forum Pakistan, Patron-in-Chief of Centre for Development Studies Think Tank, Director of Meesakh Research Centre; he regularly appears on media platforms
