I agree that Mush is to blame for this slide into a bureaucratic notion of valuing short-term stability over all else --- basically a "don't rock the boat" approach which is just sad, especially from the military!
I disagree with you that it's directly related to religious tendencies. In fact, it would be great to see secular hawks as well, as the religious ones sometimes get lost in Ghazva-e-Hindh (conquering) fantasies rather than, like Doval, being slow, methodological and patient. This is a covert war --- nobody is worried about India invading Pakistan anymore. We have to be on the offensive, but we also have to not get caught. It's a fine balance, and many of the religious types don't care about this balance. For example, many of the hawks in Israel and the US are actually very liberal overall; many aren't. But the 'hawk' or even the 'realist' exists and is valued.
On the other hand, we have a bunch of pacifist losers who think that appeasement will work. WAKE UP! The deterrence deficit is rising. People here pat themselves on the back over the most pathetic achievements --- hence we think that maintaining this terrible state of affairs is a great goal to achieve.
You're right, this can only change after many generations. In the short term, I wish we randomly get a wild card hawkish PM and, more importantly, COAS. The biggest disservice and most unfair attack that people (including some here have leveled at me) is that being hawkish means that we are supporting some kind of open, conventional war with India or the direct invasion of IOK. I am not. I am saying we need to do a lot more covertly, offensively and aggressively, to win or at least balance things in the subconventional/hybrid/gray zone area and then, when the deterrence deficit here has been minimized, it'll serve as a preparation of the battlefield exercise for a decisive push (or not --- we should regardless keep IOK boiling).
@PanzerKiel may be able to comment on the growing dove-like attitudes of 3-star officers. I have interacted with a few and they talk and behave surprisingly more like diplomats and politicians than generals. The standard response is: we game this stuff, we have simulations, there's a lot you don't know, bla bla bla --- which is wholly unconvincing. Only a few very honest offrs capable of introspection have admitted that this is a pointless, counter-productive strategy that is getting more and more Pakistani blood spilt --- and we desperately need reimagined and reinvigorated kinetic covert action and proxy warfare against India, especially in IOK. The big problem is that it is easier for top brass to maintain this new normal status quo (in which Pakistan is unfortunately at a disadvantage) than to painfully and riskily build new capacities in the requisite domains.
@SQ8 @Blacklight @Areesh