Foreign secretary level parleys had started here in Islamabad about two months ago between India and Pakistan. Issues as contagious as Sir Creek and as explosive as Kashmir have come under the spot light. Most important, the nuclear pleasantries were exchanged under the subtlety of diplomatic humour.
Talks had acquired the strategic shade even with a clear lack of will at the very basic levels. The complete ambit of this dangerous game evolves around three things, the weapons itself, the delivery system and the continued R&D. Nuclear doctrine of any country is the multiplication, addition and subtraction of these three inputs. Pakistan as per estimates of non-partisans is quite comfortable in all the three nuclear variables. Delivery system is based on missiles with different ranges to cover the complete spectrum with the latest NASR, the tactical nuclear missile; others are the aircrafts and the submarines. So what’s the jinx, the Indian side is probably at different calculus, the arithmetic of hegemony and dominance.
The list of nuclear facilities is periodically exchanged between Pakistan and India. This is a routine matter which is kept alive year after year with the hope to maintain the bear minimum level of confidence, the nuclear confidence. Treading the nuclear road is altogether a different ball game. The coming nuclear talks on FMCT are going to be the arena which they are longing for in Pakistan bashing.
ABID LATIF SINDHU
Islamabad
