In this episode of Unraveled with Marvi Sirmed, we examine the four-day conflict in May 2025 between India and Pakistan—one of the most intense escalations between the nuclear-armed neighbors in recent memory. Joining Marvi is Professor Hassan Abbas (National Defense University, Washington, D.C.), a renowned scholar of South Asian security and civil-military relations, and the author of his recent book, The Return of the Taliban, which can be ordered from: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300278712/the-return-of-the-taliban/
Together with Marvi Sirmed, Professor Abbas unpacks the strategic objectives, contested narratives, and long-term implications of the conflict. Did India achieve its deterrence goals? Did Pakistan manage a credible response? What role did misinformation play? And most importantly, where does South Asia go from here? From the politics of militancy and military optics to shifting regional alliances and global mediation, this conversation goes beyond official claims and counterclaims to ask what both countries have learned—and what they haven’t.