Pakistan's Rush To Develop Tactical Nukes Is Raising Concerns

Photo Credit: Inter Services Public Relations (Pakistan Military)

New Year, New Problem? Pakistan’s Tactical Nukes -- Shashank Joshi, The Diplomat

Pakistan is developing a new generation of smaller "tactical" nuclear weapons. The dangers and challenges such arms present are very real.

October of last year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Many Asian policymakers will read the lessons of that harrowing episode with some self-satisfaction.

When India and Pakistan conducted their nuclear weapon tests in 1998, foreign analysts repeatedly told them that, as poor countries with weak institutions, they could not be entrusted with such awesome weaponry. Nascent nuclear powers were simply less reliable stewards than their Cold War counterparts. Over a decade on, and multiple crises later — Kargil in 1999, a military standoff in 2001-2, and the Mumbai attacks of 2008 — India and Pakistan have experienced nothing quite as perilous as the Cuban scare.

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My Comment: A nuclear arms race is not what the world needs right now .... especially in Asia.

Is Pakistan Expanding Its Nuclear Arsenal To Deter A US Attack?

Pakistan 'Expanding Nuclear Arsenal To Deter US Attack' -- New York Post

According Shyam Saran, India's former foreign secretary, Pakistan is working on expanding its nuclear arsenal to deter a US attack. Pakistan is believed to have 110 nuclear warheads. Washington remains concerned about the security of its nuclear bases.

Asia's triangular arms race has traditionally reflected the rivalries between India and China and India and Pakistan, but according to an influential former adviser to Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, Pakistan now regards the United States as a potential threat.

In an article for The Hindu newspaper, Shyam Saran said Islamabad had invested in a new generation of plutonium-based warheads, increased the size range of its arsenal, and improved the accuracy of its missiles.

Washington has voiced its concerns over the build-up in the region but believes it reflects Pakistan's long-standing fear of arch rival India's conventional force superiority.

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My Comment: Pakistan's focus is still on India. But .... if a terrorist nuclear bomb blows up an American city .... and the uranium/plutonium used has a 'Pakistan' signature .... I would not want to be living in a Pakistani city if such an event occurs.