Pakistan's Perspective on Nuclear Deterrence in South Asia

Abstract

The analysis is undertaken to evaluate the lumbering state of nuclear deterrence in South Asia. It ponders to foresee the veracity of India-Pakistan strategic stability by deliberating upon the equivocal doctrines and ambiguity on nuclear weapon postures at both ends. Communication, Command and Control Systems (C3S), traditionally considered as a robust feature of nuclear apparatus, faces an extraordinary challenge in the age of cyber propaganda and disinformation. The escalating tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad over the Kashmir dispute are deemed alarming for the international community as the two countries particularly India possess no ceding traits within its present foreign policy behaviour. The successful working of nuclear deterrence depends upon the rationality of state leadership. It is questionable whether it may be so in the case of ruling Bhartiya Janata Party whose war-mongering anti-Pakistan fervour continues to be inspired by religious fanaticism and jingoism. The animus surviving for several decades in India-Pakistan bilateral coalesce has the potential to transform the South Asian region into a nuclear cauldron - the consequences of which would be appalling for states in the region and beyond.