In South Asian politics, a politician’s promise doesn’t seem to last very long. This is an old story, one that echoes across the decades in South Asia. Politicians may come and go, swayed by rhetoric and external inducements, but the institution of the army endures as the bedrock against foreign designs. The lesson for South Asia is simple: there can be no stability where sovereignty is for sale. Until civilian leaders develop the spine to resist India’s overreach, the military will, and must, remain the final arbiter of security.