Pakistan`s Evolving Strategic Outlook: Strategy and Nuclear Deterrence

( Zulfqar Khan ) 한국국방연구원 2016 The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis Vol.28 No.1

It is argued that, Pakistan’s “full spectrum” nuclear strategy is based upon the concept of proportionate calibration against the perceived threat of a limited strike by the conventionally much superior military forces of India. Pakistan’s strategy is emitting robust signaling vis-a-vis the apparent strikes with the objective to deter the adversary from operationalizing its flawed limited war doctrine. Moreover, its strategic nuclear forces would perform the function of a dynamic reserve asset and as an ultimate deterrent against India. Most significantly, it would convince India of consequences in the case of deliberate escalation of a crisis or plan of a limited military operation. In essence, it also sufficiently reflects Pakistan’s preparation and “willingness to fight.” In the absence of a conflict resolution mechanism, diplomatic dialogue, both countries’ nuclear deterrent capabilities are expected to perpetuate the element of uncertainty especially during crises.

India–Pakistan, Limited War and Lopsided Deterrence: A Perspective

Zulfqar Khan 한국국방연구원 2018 The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis Vol.30 No.1

The paper analyzes India–Pakistan’s lopsided nuclear deterrence and military strategies. India plans to deliberately escalate a limited war against Pakistan. Pakistan is determined to neutralize India’s schema on different planes, a limited conventional, limited nuclear to strategic nuclear wars. It is destabilizing and complicating South Asia’s nuclear deterrence matrix. Pakistan’s threshold has depleted due to its “two-frontal” security dilemma. It has considerably increased Pakistan’s reliance on nuclear weapons. It is deduced that, India–Pakistan’s inflexible and egocentric cultural mooring is inhibiting them from stepping back from perilous military strategies, which can trigger miscalculations, enhance misperceptions, or may lead to the outbreak of accidental/inadvertent limited conventional or nuclear war. Both countries need to recognize the imperative of a stable nuclear deterrence and peaceful coexistence instead of crafting unpredictable and dangerous strategies. The shared risks of nuclear catastrophe should motivate them to pursue rational and realistic policies.

Regional-centric Deterrence: Reassessing its Efficacy for South Asia

( Zulfqar Khan ),( Rizwana Abbasi ) 한국국방연구원 2013 The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis Vol.25 No.4

It is generally believed that a stable nuclear deterrence averts wars between nuclear adversaries, and makes peace secure. This conceptual argument has merit in terms of the prevention of all-out war; but it does not fully address the need to prevent the outbreak of a limited war between two nuclear weapon states. India and Pakistan have already fought one limited war, Kargil, in a nuclear environment. These two relatively new nuclear weapon states rely on nuclear deterrence to address the external threats. While frequently occurring conflicts demonstrate this, a recurrence of limited war cannot be ruled out in this crisis-ridden region, which would be fraught with significant dangers of escalation. Using a qualitative research approach and deploying a structural deterrence theory as a conceptual guiding tool, this paper investigates the nuclear future of the region, including the prospects of war, conflict termination strategy, escalation control, escalation dominance mechanisms, and finally suggests some pertinent lessons for crisis stability.

India-Pakistan : Emerging Trends in Strategic Dynamics

Zulfqar Khan 한국국제정치학회 2015 The Korean Journal of International Studies Vol.13 No.3

A Sustainable Approach in the Development of Nano-silver Deposited Conductive Cellulosic Fabric: A Comparison of Various Bio-based Reductants

Zulfqar Ali Raza,Samra Rehan,Muhammad Salman Naeem,Kinza Hassan 한국섬유공학회 2023 Fibers and polymers Vol.24 No.8

The textile materials produced with nanoparticles’ mediation give them diverse functional features including antibacterial activity, optical and structural features, tensile properties, self-cleaning, electrical conductivity and so on. Accordingly, conductive textiles may promise widespread applications in electronics, sensing, diagnostics, data transfer and so on. Herein, we compared the effectiveness of three different bio-based reductants of black tea extract, chitosan and starch for the in situ synthesis and impregnation of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) on the cellulose fabric to get effective conducting textiles. The results demonstrated that the z-average of the prepared silver-based particles was found in the nanometer range and they were well stable in the aqueous media. The surface chemical analysis exhibited that the SNPs were successfully impregnated on the finished cellulose fabric and affected its surface roughness and crystalline properties. The AC conductivity scan of the finished fabrics expressed that they become conductive of electricity, however, the highest effect was seen when black tea extract as a reductant during the application of SNPs in the fabric. The SNPs-treated samples expressed slightly decreased air permeability and tensile strength as compared to the untreated sample. After silver nano-finishing, the cellulosic samples turned from whitish to yellow to dark brown. They exhibited good broad-spectrum qualitative and quantitative antibacterial activities.

Leadership and decision-making practices in public versus private universities in Pakistan

A. Zulfqar,M. Valcke,G. Devos,M. Tuytens,A. Shahzad 서울대학교 교육연구소 2016 Asia Pacific Education Review Vol.17 No.1

The goal of this study is to examine differences in leadership and decision-making practices in public and private universities in Pakistan, with a focus on transformational leadership (TL) and participative decision-making (PDM). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 46 deans and heads of department from two public and two private universities in Pakistan. Our findings indicate that leadership and decision-making practices are different in public and private universities. While differences were observed in all six types of TL-behaviour, the following three approaches emerged to be crucial in both public and private universities: (1) articulating a vision, (2) fostering the acceptance of group goals, and (3) high-performance expectations. In terms of PDM, deans and heads of department in public and private universities adopt a collaborative approach. However, on a practical level this approach is limited to teacher- and student-related matters. Overall, our findings suggest that the leadership and decision-making practices in Pakistani public and private universities are transformational and participative in nature.

Effect of Human Related Factors on Requirements Change Management in Offshore Software Development Outsourcing: A theoretical framework

Mehmood, Faisal,Zulfqar, Sukana Institute of Information Science and Technology 2021 Soft computing and machine intelligence Vol.1 No.1

Software development organizations are globalizing their development activities increasingly due to strategic and economic gains. Global software development (GSD) is an intricate concept, and various challenges are associated with it, specifically related to the software requirement change management Process (RCM). This research aims to identify humans' related success factors (HSFs) and human-related challenges (HCHs) that could influence the RCM process in GSD organizations and propose a theoretical framework of the identified factors concerning RCM process implementation. The Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method was adopted to investigate the HSFs and HCHs. Using the SLR approach, a total of 10 SFs and 10 CHs were identified. The study also reported the critical success factors (HCSFs) and critical challenges (HCCHs) for RCM process implementation following the factors having a frequency 50% as critical. Our results reveal that five out of ten HSFs and 4 out of ten HCHs are critical for RCM process implementation in GSD. Finally, we have developed a theoretical framework based on the identified factors that indicated a relationship among the identified factors and the implementation of the RCM process in the context of GSD. We believe that the results of this research can help tackle the complications associated with the RCM in GSD environment, which is vigorous to the success and progression of GSD organizations.