222
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares

      If you have found this article useful and you think it is important that researchers across the world have access, please consider donating, to ensure that this valuable collection remains Open Access.

      Policy Perspectives is published by Pluto Journals, an Open Access publisher. This means that everyone has free and unlimited access to the full-text of all articles from our international collection of social science journals, and the authors don’t pay an author processing charge (APC’s).

      scite_
       
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Pakistan's Nuclear Program: The Context

      research-article
      Bookmark

            Abstract

            The main driver of Pakistan's nuclear weapon program is existing military threat emanating from India's conventional and nuclear military capabilities. Though India often cites Chinese nuclear weapons program as the main driver for its nuclear weapons' pursuits, India's Program was on sound footings well before China's nuclear test in 1964. New Delhi's decision to go nuclear had provided Islamabad a God-sent opportunity to pullout its nuclear Program from the shadow of ambiguity and lay claims over comparable capability and capacity. For Pakistan, there was just one reason for wanting “The Bomb” that Indian Nuclear had to be countered by Pakistani nuclear, for nuclear could only be countered by nuclear. India's nuclear Program is status driven, something it thinks would place it into a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Ironically Pakistan's necessity driven nuclear Program continues to draw ire. While at the same time, India's luxury driven nuclear Program is being afforded further enablers. Pakistan has expressed willingness to join the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) simultaneously with India. Furthermore, India's dangerous doctrinal orientations and US$ 120 billion modernization and up-gradation Programs have upped the asymmetry in conventional domain vis-a-vis Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan views deterrence through a comprehensive lens comprising conventional and nuclear capabilities. The international community needs to view Pakistan's nuclear weapon program in the context of the threat it faces. The civilian component of nuclear program is aimed at enabling Pakistan to overcome its energy shortage through nuclear fuel.

            Content

            Author and article information

            Journal
            10.13169
            polipers
            Policy Perspectives: The Journal of the Institute of Policy Studies
            Pluto Journals
            18121829
            18127347
            2016
            : 13
            : 1
            : 25-52
            Affiliations
            Air Cdre. (r) Khalid Iqbal, a former senior official of Pakistan Air Force, is a Member of National Academic Council (NAC) of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad.
            Article
            polipers.13.1.0025
            10.13169/polipers.13.1.0025
            6c70a54b-acf1-4dd0-986d-e6f98853df51
            © 2016, Institute of Policy Studies

            All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

            History

            Education,Religious studies & Theology,Social & Behavioral Sciences,Law,Economics
            Non-Nuclear Weapons State,Nuclear Weapons State,Pakistan,India,CTBT,Nuclear Program,NPT

            Bibliography

            1. . “Cold Start in Strategic Calculus,” IPRI Journal , XII, no. 1 (Winter 2012).

            2. . The New Nuclear Order!. Islamabad: Institute of Regional Studies, 1998.

            3. Arms Control Association . “Nuclear Testing and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Timeline.” Assessed December 07, 2015. http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclear-Testing-and-Comprehensive-Test-Ban-Treaty-CTBT-Timeline.

            4. . “Change in the U.S. Nuclear Non-proliferation Policy toward India (1998–2005): Accommodating the Anomaly.” PhD diss. University of Alberta, 2002.

            5. , . Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare . New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation, 2002.

            6. Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars. “The South Asian Bomb: Reality and Illusion.” Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars 31, no. 2 (April–June 1999).

            7. . “Take Forward Agni-V Legacy to Build Full Fledged ICBM.” Missile Threat . July 06, 2015. Accessed December 09, 2015. http://missilethreat.com/take-forward-agni-v-legacy-to-build-full-fledged-icbm/.

            8. . “US Prepares Contingency Plans to Seize Pakistani Nuclear Triggers.” World Socialist Website . November 20, 2009. Accessed December 09, 2015. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2009/11/paki-n20.html.

            9. “Nation at War.” Chapter 25, part 2, Bunch of Thoughts . (Revised and enlarged edition. Bangalore: Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana, 1996.

            10. . “The Balance of Power in South Asia: The Strategic Interests and Capabilities of India, China and Pakistan.” MSc diss., University of Texas, Austin, 1999. Accessed December 01, 2015. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:F4eLnzJqO2oJ:www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc%3FAD%3DADA372363+&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk.

            11. ed., Confronting the Bomb: Pakistani and Indian Scientists Speak Out . Karachi: Oxford University Press: 2013.

            12. International Business Publication Inc. Pakistan Intelligence, Security Activities and Operations Handbook: Strategic Information and Developments . (Washington DC: International Business Publication Inc., 2013).

            13. . “NSG Membership: Cherry-pick or Criteria?” Islamabad Policy Research Institute . November 30, 2015. Accessed December 08, 2015. http://www.ipripak.org/nsg-membership-cherry-pick-or-criteria/#sthash.miCLmLW5.dpbs.

            14. “Nuclear Crisis in South Asia.” Frontline 19, no. 12 (June 8–21, 2002). Accessed December 05, 2015. http://www.indianet.nl/indpak65.html.

            15. , “Coming of Age in 2014.” Nuclear Engineering International . September 24, 2014. Accessed December 08, 2015. http://www.neimagazine.com/features/featurecoming-of-age-in-2014-4382068/.

            16. . “Unfinished Business: The Negotiation of the CTBT and the End of Nuclear Testing.” United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDR), Geneva, Switzerland, UNIDIR/2009/2. New York and Geneva: The United Nations: 2009.

            17. . “Behind India's Nuclear Bomb Testing.” World Socialist Website . May 16, 1998. Accessed December 08, 2015. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1998/05/nuke-m16.html.

            18. , and , ed., Nuclear Learning in South Asia: The Next Decade . California: Naval Post graduate School, 2014.

            19. . “Indian MTCR Membership: Diplomatic Solution or Destabilizing Mistake?” South Asian Voices , November 13, 2015. Accessed December 07, 2015. http://southasianvoices.org/indian-mtcr-membership-diplomatic-solution-or-destabilizing-mistake/.

            20. . “Pakistan's Nuclear Policy: A Minimum Credible Deterrence.” 1st ed., Routledge: Contemporary South Asia Series, 2014.

            21. . “Pakistan and the Bomb.” The Non-proliferation Review , (March 2011). Accessed December 01, 2015. http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#search/Michael+Krepon+Michael_Krepon%40mail.vresp.com/12e9c1a03884f7f7.

            22. . “The Limits of Influence.” London: Routledge, February 2011. (Online publication).

            23. . “Four Takeaways from Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Washington Visit.” The Wall Street Journal (Washington wire), October 23, 2015. Accessed December 08, 2015. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/10/23/four-takeaways-from-pakistani-prime-minister-nawaz-sharifs-washington-visit/.

            24. . “15-Years After Pokhran II: Deterrence Churning Continues.” IDSA , (June 10, 2013).

            25. . “South Asia after the Nuclear Tests: Securing Insecurity.” Journal of International Development and Cooperation 6, no.1 (2000).

            26. “Indian Military Modernization and Conventional Deterrence in South Asia.” The Journal of Strategic Studies 38, no. 5 (2015). Accessed December 09, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2015.1014473.

            27. . “Symbolism and Strategy on 26 January.” The Strategist . January 23, 2015. Accessed December 08, 2015. http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/symbolism-and-strategy-on-26-january/.

            28. , “Welcome Bigger War”, in chapter 25, part 1, Bunch of Thoughts . (Revised and enlarged edition. Bangalore: Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana, 1996.

            29. . “Australia's Uranium Puzzle: Why China and Russia but not India?” Occasional Papers on Australia-India Relations I (Spring 2011). www.aii.unimelb.edu.au.

            30. . “Ballistic Missile Defence System for India”, Indian Defence Review 27 no. 3 (Jul-Sep 2012). Assessed May 31, 2015. http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/ballistic-missile-defence-system-for-india/.

            31. and . “When Mountains Move – The Story of Chagai.” Defence Journal (Karachi), June 2000. Accessed December 08, 2015. http://www.defencejournal.com/2000/june/chagai.htm.

            32. . “Pakistan's Annual Deception.” IDSA Comment. February 23, 2011. Accessed December 07, 2012. http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/PakistansAnnualDeception_RajivNayan_23021.

            33. Nuclear Threat Initiative . “Country Profile India: Nuclear.” Accessed December 07, 2015. http://www.nti.org/country-profiles/india/nuclear/.

            34. Nuclear Weapon Archive . “India as a Nuclear Power: 1998–2001.” March 30, 2001. Accessed November 12, 2015. http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/India/IndiaNPower.html.

            35. Nuclear Weapon Archive . “India's Nuclear Weapons Program Operation Shakti: 1998.” March 30, 2001. Accessed December 08, 2015. http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/India/IndiaShakti.html.

            36. Nuclear Weapon Archive . “Operation Shakti: 1998.” India's Nuclear Weapons Program Accessed December 4, 2015. http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/India/IndiaShakti.html.

            37. “The Prodigal State: India's New Nuclear Clothes.” Centre Right India . March 31, 2013. Accessed December 07, 2015. http://centreright.in/2013/03/the-prodigal-state-indias-new-nuclear-clothes/#.VmW-Wr-5LIU.

            38. “From Nuclear Adventurism to Appeasement.” Front Line 15, no. 12 (June 06–19, 1998) Accessed December 1, 2015. http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1512/15120110.htm.

            39. “What Wrong did this Man do?, Front Line 16, no 10 (May 08–21, 1999). Accessed November 20, 2014. http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1610/16100220.htm.

            40. Riding the Nuclear Tiger . New Delhi: Left Word Books, February 2002.

            41. Reddit . “How has Pakistan been able to accomplish the Task of Producing Atomic Weapons?” Accessed December 04, 2015. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1xlhsr/how_has_pakistan_been_able_to_accomplish_the_task/.

            42. . “International Non-Proliferation Regime: Pakistan and Indian Perspectives.” IPRI Journal XIII, no. 1 (Winter 2013).

            43. . “India's ‘Moral’ Nuclear Behaviour: Rhetoric or Reality?” IPCS . Article no. 3369 (May 03, 2011).

            44. . “Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Program 1998: The Year of Testing.” September 10, 2001. Accessed December 01, 2015. http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Pakistan/PakTests.html.

            45. . “Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Program 1998: The Year of Testing.” Nuclear Weapons Archie , Last changed September 10, 2001. Accessed December 08, 2015. http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Pakistan/PakTests.html.

            46. . “How the World Warmed to a Nuclear India.” Inside Story . May 03, 2012. Accessed May 09, 2015. http://insidestory.org.au/how-the-world-warmed-to-a-nuclear-india.

            47. Reassessing Pakistan: Role of Two-nation Theory . New Delhi: Lancer Publishing & Distributors, 2001.

            48. . Interview with Dr Manmohan Singh, Aired by CNN on November 29, 2009. Accessed December 04, 2015. http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0911/29/fzgps.01.html.

            49. . “Pakistan's Road to a Minimum Nuclear Deterrent.” Arms Control Association . Accessed December 09, 2015. http://www.armscontrol.org/print/516.

            Comments

            Comment on this article