‘Pakistan-India arms race most dangerous in world’

An article posted by the Eurasia Review says the world’s most dangerous arms race is between Pakistan and India, not between Moscow and Washington or in Middle East or East Asia.

The writer describes the “Indian-Pakistani challenge” as a worldwide issue “well on the way to delivering a huge scale war between two major, powerful countries and the result in the deployment of nuclear weapons while the rate of new developments in this arms race is an alarming situation for regional peace and prosperity”.

The article says, “The dominant factor in the continuity of Indo-Pakistan rivalry lies in the support that the US, Russia, and China along with other arms exporter have extended the regional challenges involved in regional disputes.”

“In recent developments, both countries have tested missiles and redefined systems for deployments. The Indian aggressive posture is to kill two birds with one stone. On one side it deters China and on another it is threatening Pakistan. Moreover, India as it considers China as the enemy, thus it deploys new ballistic missiles. Pakistan is developing a new delivery system in the light of developments in India. As a result, there is a continuous rise in the arms race.”

Listing the recent induction of modern aircraft by India, the article says, “It signifies Indian military capability and growing interest toward armament, which pose a serious threat to the peace and prosperity in the region.”

“This has made Pakistan thoroughly consider her nuclear arms stockpile and retaliatory potential in such unverifiable terms with India, because of Pakistan’s India-specific nuclear tenet. Pakistan has officially developed Naval Strategic Force Command (NSFC) in later past. However, Pakistan has not yet set up her entire, solid sea-based missile setup.”

“In fact, both states are trying to enjoy leverage over one another, thus there is serious competition between two rivals,” the writer adds. “Meanwhile, it is believed that both countries have separated their warheads from missiles. Until when will such an unattractive scenario not be developed? If any terrorist group developed a scenario either in Pakistan or India, both countries would not let them deploy missiles. As it is now, this rivalry runs counter to creating a peaceful environment,” the writer warns.

“Insecurity is at the heart of every rivalry and the element of insecurity is heightened day by day between the two. They claim to follow no-first-use doctrine, but at the same time, both are aggressive enough to deny no-first-use policy with a cause of each other’s existence as rivals, with some external gamers playing their efficient role in escalating this rivalry in pursuit of their own regional interests and retaining their strategic influence.”

The article notes that the Third World is surrounded by numerous social issues. “Defence is being given more priority instead of non-traditional security threats. These non-traditional threats are more dangerous than traditional threats and have server implications in future. More than 41 per cent of population is living below the new international poverty line in India and near of it in Pakistan. This shows bad governance and mismanagement in both countries.”

“It is a fact that, where ever arms flow, violence follows. Missiles replace ballots as the solution to political dispute. Therefore, it is our prime responsibility to raise our voice for complete disarmament in the region and resolve our all issues by other means.”