ASSESSMENTS

Pakistan Calls India's Nuclear Bluff in a Subcontinent Standoff

Apr 5, 2018 | 15:14 GMT

The Pakistani military displays some of its missiles at the Nur Khan air base on Sept. 6, 2017.

The Pakistani military displays some of its missiles at the Nur Khan air base on Sept. 6, 2017.

(AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • The nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan will escalate as both countries seek to introduce new technologies and strategies.
  • Pakistan's improved ability to retaliate to an Indian strategic nuclear strike will make it more difficult for India to deter Islamabad from using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield.
  • If India acquires its own tactical nuclear weapons, New Delhi and Islamabad will be more likely to use nuclear weapons in the event of a major conflict between them.

In the subcontinent, the road to ruin is paved with seemingly sound calculations, if not always good intentions. Seeking to gain an advantage over the other, Pakistan and India find themselves on the edge of a new nuclear arms race, as Islamabad prepares to introduce new missiles capable of delivering several independent warheads and New Delhi debates whether to roll out its own tactical nuclear weapons. The escalating competition, however, risks igniting a conflict in which both sides reach for the nuclear button....

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