A war is always destructive but when it comes to countries like India and Pakistan, it would be no less than havoc for both sides.
Having said that, let's look at things from an unbiased point of view. The nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent was in reality begun by the India. Pakistan simply followed to offset the balance of power.
In 1998 when India carried out a series of atomic explosion which was its second one, Pakistan was forced to bring out its nuclear arsenal from under the wraps, tighten a couple of screws, and display to the world its nuclear capabilities.
The nuclear weapons gave Pakistan a reassurance that it not be humiliated the same way it was in 1971. If Indian forces were to ever enter Pakistani territory in such force, it is mostly likely Pakistan would compensate for its conventional military inferiority by using battlefield nuclear weapons. Such a plan makes India’s military doctrine of a swift incursion into Pakistan capturing as much territory as possible before Pakistan retaliates, hard to implement.
Pakistan's nuclear weapons program began in 1972 under the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He realized the importance of Pakistan having nuclear weapons as a deterrent against India. This was clear from his famous statement, "If India builds the bomb, we will eat grass or leaves, even go hungry, but we will get one of own."
It is true that when a country attempts to go nuclear, it does direct funds from other developmental programs that would have benefited the masses. But the fact remains and cannot be overlooked that the presence of nuclear weapons acts as deterrent to aggression.
Thus, in the end, the presence of nuclear weapons does ensure peace.
A war is always destructive but when it comes to countries like India and Pakistan, it would be no less than havoc for both sides.
Having said that, let's look at things from an unbiased point of view. The nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent was in reality begun by the India. Pakistan simply followed to offset the balance of power.
In 1998 when India carried out a series of atomic explosion which was its second one, Pakistan was forced to bring out its nuclear arsenal from under the wraps, tighten a couple of screws, and display to the world its nuclear capabilities.
The nuclear weapons gave Pakistan a reassurance that it not be humiliated the same way it was in 1971. If Indian forces were to ever enter Pakistani territory in such force, it is mostly likely Pakistan would compensate for its conventional military inferiority by using battlefield nuclear weapons. Such a plan makes India’s military doctrine of a swift incursion into Pakistan capturing as much territory as possible before Pakistan retaliates, hard to implement.
Pakistan's nuclear weapons program began in 1972 under the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He realized the importance of Pakistan having nuclear weapons as a deterrent against India. This was clear from his famous statement, "If India builds the bomb, we will eat grass or leaves, even go hungry, but we will get one of own."
It is true that when a country attempts to go nuclear, it does direct funds from other developmental programs that would have benefited the masses. But the fact remains and cannot be overlooked that the presence of nuclear weapons acts as deterrent to aggression.
Thus, in the end, the presence of nuclear weapons does ensure peace.