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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...attack-against-india/articleshow/54479254.cms
NEW DELHI: On September 18, four heavily armed terrorists belonging to Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) attacked an Indian Army administrative base in Uri. Eighteen soldiers were killed, most of them burnt alive due to the incendiary ammunition fired by the terrorists, and 32 others were seriously injured.
From diplomatic isolation to surgical strikes, a number of retaliatory measures have been put on the table for consideration. The army's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh after the attack stated that the army reserves the right to respond to any act of the adversary at a time and place of its own choosing.
But Pakistan is a nuclear state, and a majority of its arsenal has been acquired keeping a threat from India in mind. In an interview to Pakistan's GeoNews last week, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja M Asif said the country would not hesitate using nuclear weapons if its security was under threat.
A Threat Assessment Brief of the Arms Control Association says Pakistan mainly has nuclear weapons to compensate for the growing conventional military superiority of India. SIPRI also confirms this statement. "Pakistan is the Asian state expanding its fissile material production most rapidly," the report says.
Defence experts say war with Pakistan will always be with a nuclear backdrop. And India's endeavour, in case it initiates war, will always be to keep it below the level of nuclear threshold. "But then war is dynamic. If the Indian forces are getting success everywhere, and if you threaten Pakistan's major cities, there may come a time when Pakistan will be forced to use the nuclear option," said a defence expert.
But given the kind of global reaction that will come against the use of nuclear weapons, Pakistan will also like to restrict their use of nuclear weapons to the tactical battlefield, meaning smaller warheads and of short range. "If Pakistan has developed the Nasr, then it means against their immediate adversary, India. If they are developing such low-yield weapons it has to be against India," said another defence expert.
Defence experts believe that Pakistani tactical, low-yield nuclear weapons like Nasr will be used on its own soil against Indian armed forces as a last resort, preferably in instances with minimum collateral damage to them. "Pakistan will use tactical nuclear weapons where they will not have radiation effects, so that it does not affect their own troops," said a defence expert.
While Pakistan has pledged in its nuclear doctrine that it will not initiate use against non-nuclear weapons states, it has not ruled out the possible first use of nuclear weapons against India, as per the Arms Control Association.
On the other hand, India's nuclear forces have much higher range than those of Pakistan, giving them the ability to target cities and heartlands of Pakistan. However, reports predict that use of Indian nuclear force will always be a reaction, never a first strike itself. "Due to technical realities and doctrinal inclinations, India's nuclear forces will remain an inherently second-strike system against China and Pakistan for the foreseeable future - even if it is perceived otherwise in Islamabad," says the Arms Control Association.
The Association reveals that India wields its nuclear weapons to gain leverage to become a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to seek a Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver to commence civilian nuclear trade.
(Source: Hans M. Kristensen and Robert R. Norris, "FAS Nuclear Notebook: Pakistani Nuclear Forces, 2015," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
India sees its nuclear stockpile to maintain a "credible minimum deterrent" and such weapons will only be used to retaliate against a nuclear attack. It measures its own nuclear profile with that of China.
In case, the two countries decide to use nuclear weapons against each other, millions would be affected in both countries during the attack, and in the aftermath of the attack. As per a National Resources Defense Council study in 2001, a "limited" nuclear exchange involving detonation of only ten Hiroshima-size nuclear weapons over ten major cities in India and Pakistan would kill or severely injure well over four million people.
"According to an updated study by the International Physicians for the Prevention ofNuclear War in 2013, an exchange of 100 weapons (less than half of the existing Indian and Pakistani arsenals) would not only kill 20 million people within one week, but also ultimately put some two billion people at risk worldwide due to starvation brought on by the climatic effects of nuclear use," reads the report.
(Source: Hans M. Kristensen and Robert R. Norris, "FAS Nuclear Notebook: Indian Nuclear Forces, 2015," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
Defence experts assess that Indian cities would be targeted by Pakistani nuclear weapons in case the tactical or small range nuclear warheads fail to have the desired effect on attack on military columns.
India doesn't face the threat of a nuclear attack by Pakistan alone. Pakistan is expected to use Chinese help to turn the table in its favour, creating severe instability in the Asian Subcontinent.
"Pakistan's introduction of the Nasr ballistic missile is probably the most destabilizing technological development in the nuclear arsenals of the subcontinent. The Nasr is designed for tactical use, possibly on Pakistani territory in the event of an Indian conventional attack," reveals a US Arms Control Association report.
US-based Arms Control Association reveals that there are nine nuclear armed countries in the world, equipped with about 15,500 nuclear warheads. Pakistan has 120 nuclear warheads, 10 more than India's 110. The Association says Pakistan is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country.
NEW DELHI: On September 18, four heavily armed terrorists belonging to Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) attacked an Indian Army administrative base in Uri. Eighteen soldiers were killed, most of them burnt alive due to the incendiary ammunition fired by the terrorists, and 32 others were seriously injured.
From diplomatic isolation to surgical strikes, a number of retaliatory measures have been put on the table for consideration. The army's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh after the attack stated that the army reserves the right to respond to any act of the adversary at a time and place of its own choosing.
But Pakistan is a nuclear state, and a majority of its arsenal has been acquired keeping a threat from India in mind. In an interview to Pakistan's GeoNews last week, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja M Asif said the country would not hesitate using nuclear weapons if its security was under threat.
A Threat Assessment Brief of the Arms Control Association says Pakistan mainly has nuclear weapons to compensate for the growing conventional military superiority of India. SIPRI also confirms this statement. "Pakistan is the Asian state expanding its fissile material production most rapidly," the report says.
Defence experts say war with Pakistan will always be with a nuclear backdrop. And India's endeavour, in case it initiates war, will always be to keep it below the level of nuclear threshold. "But then war is dynamic. If the Indian forces are getting success everywhere, and if you threaten Pakistan's major cities, there may come a time when Pakistan will be forced to use the nuclear option," said a defence expert.
But given the kind of global reaction that will come against the use of nuclear weapons, Pakistan will also like to restrict their use of nuclear weapons to the tactical battlefield, meaning smaller warheads and of short range. "If Pakistan has developed the Nasr, then it means against their immediate adversary, India. If they are developing such low-yield weapons it has to be against India," said another defence expert.
Defence experts believe that Pakistani tactical, low-yield nuclear weapons like Nasr will be used on its own soil against Indian armed forces as a last resort, preferably in instances with minimum collateral damage to them. "Pakistan will use tactical nuclear weapons where they will not have radiation effects, so that it does not affect their own troops," said a defence expert.
While Pakistan has pledged in its nuclear doctrine that it will not initiate use against non-nuclear weapons states, it has not ruled out the possible first use of nuclear weapons against India, as per the Arms Control Association.
On the other hand, India's nuclear forces have much higher range than those of Pakistan, giving them the ability to target cities and heartlands of Pakistan. However, reports predict that use of Indian nuclear force will always be a reaction, never a first strike itself. "Due to technical realities and doctrinal inclinations, India's nuclear forces will remain an inherently second-strike system against China and Pakistan for the foreseeable future - even if it is perceived otherwise in Islamabad," says the Arms Control Association.
The Association reveals that India wields its nuclear weapons to gain leverage to become a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to seek a Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver to commence civilian nuclear trade.
(Source: Hans M. Kristensen and Robert R. Norris, "FAS Nuclear Notebook: Pakistani Nuclear Forces, 2015," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
India sees its nuclear stockpile to maintain a "credible minimum deterrent" and such weapons will only be used to retaliate against a nuclear attack. It measures its own nuclear profile with that of China.
In case, the two countries decide to use nuclear weapons against each other, millions would be affected in both countries during the attack, and in the aftermath of the attack. As per a National Resources Defense Council study in 2001, a "limited" nuclear exchange involving detonation of only ten Hiroshima-size nuclear weapons over ten major cities in India and Pakistan would kill or severely injure well over four million people.
"According to an updated study by the International Physicians for the Prevention ofNuclear War in 2013, an exchange of 100 weapons (less than half of the existing Indian and Pakistani arsenals) would not only kill 20 million people within one week, but also ultimately put some two billion people at risk worldwide due to starvation brought on by the climatic effects of nuclear use," reads the report.
(Source: Hans M. Kristensen and Robert R. Norris, "FAS Nuclear Notebook: Indian Nuclear Forces, 2015," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
Defence experts assess that Indian cities would be targeted by Pakistani nuclear weapons in case the tactical or small range nuclear warheads fail to have the desired effect on attack on military columns.
India doesn't face the threat of a nuclear attack by Pakistan alone. Pakistan is expected to use Chinese help to turn the table in its favour, creating severe instability in the Asian Subcontinent.
"Pakistan's introduction of the Nasr ballistic missile is probably the most destabilizing technological development in the nuclear arsenals of the subcontinent. The Nasr is designed for tactical use, possibly on Pakistani territory in the event of an Indian conventional attack," reveals a US Arms Control Association report.
US-based Arms Control Association reveals that there are nine nuclear armed countries in the world, equipped with about 15,500 nuclear warheads. Pakistan has 120 nuclear warheads, 10 more than India's 110. The Association says Pakistan is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country.
