Decoding Pakistan: Asim Munir, Balochistan, Kashmir, Nuclear weapons and Op Sindoor | Sushant Sareen

In this in-depth episode of 'The Prakhar Gupta Xperience,' host Prakhar Gupta engages in a fiery and intellectually rigorous conversation with Sushant Sareen, a renowned expert on Pakistan and former ORF fellow. The discussion dissects the foundational myths and structural contradictions of Pakistan as a state, arguing that it is an 'artificial' nation built on ideological rather than historical grounds. Sareen contends that Pakistan’s identity crisis—rooted in the erasure of its Hindu past and the manufactured purity of its Islamic identity—fuels its perpetual conflict with India, especially over Kashmir, which he frames as a symptom of deeper existential insecurity. The episode explores Pakistan’s military dominance under figures like Asim Munir, the role of the ISI in fostering terrorism, and the country’s economic collapse despite its nuclear arsenal. Sareen critiques India’s strategic approach, suggesting it has successfully isolated Pakistan through economic and diplomatic pressure, though he warns against overconfidence in Pakistan’s imminent collapse. He also examines the geopolitical maneuvering of Pakistan between the U.S. and China, and the dangers of relying on external patronage. The conversation concludes with a call for India to focus on self-reliance, industrial strength, and strategic clarity in a rapidly changing global order, emphasizing that true power lies not in nuclear deterrence alone but in sustainable economic and technological capability.