Staring into the abyss: walking the nuclear tightrope in south Asia

BMJ 1998;317:363 ( 8 August )

Editorials

Staring into the abyss: walking the nuclear tightrope in south Asia

Sanctions can only make things worse for the people of India and Pakistan

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Pokaran and Chagai, two remote wastelands in India and Pakistan, convulsed painfully under the impact of 11 nuclear explosionsin May this year, as both countries overtly crossed the nuclearthreshold. In the weeks that followed the widespread euphoria and irresponsible jingoism witnessed in the streets of Delhi and Islamabad has given way to introspection and the beginnings ofa real debate on the implications of a nuclear arms race in thesubcontinent.

Although the genie of nuclear capability in both countries has been well and truly let out, it is imperative that India andPakistan refrain from embarking on a nuclear weapons build up.It may already be too late to prevent such a build up, but thereare several compelling reasons why such a programme in the subcontinentmay not serve as a real deterrent to war but greatly enhance itsrisks and costs.

The analogy with the nuclear . . . [Full text of this article]

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