RS21237 -- Indian and Pakistani Nuclear Weapons
Updated February 17, 2005

	Background

Almost 50 years of nuclear ambiguity were swept away by the May 1998 nuclear tests of India and Pakistan. Indian Nuclear Weapon Capabilities and Thinking

India began its nuclear program shortly after independence in 1947. and refined others. In the 1980s, Pakistan moved assiduously to acquire ballistic missilecapabilities and now deploys short-range ballistic missiles and asmall number of medium-range missiles. (12) On June 4, 2002, President Musharraf went further: "The possession of nuclear weapons by any state obviouslyimplies they will be used under some circumstances." In September 2004, Indiaand Pakistan announced 13 confidence-building measures. (24)
Foreign secretaries reported progress in their discussions on missile notifications in December 2004.
Until 2005, India and Pakistan were the only states outside the NuclearNonproliferation Treaty to declare, openly, their nuclear weaponscapability. In 1998, they tested nuclear weapons and since then, deployed ballistic missiles, enunciated nucleardoctrine, and made organizational changes to their nuclearestablishments. In 2002, they teetered on the brink of war in Kashmir. This paper summarizes Indian and Pakistaninuclear weapon capabilities and thinking, and discusses someconfidence-building measures in place intended to help avert nuclear war. It will be updated as events warrant.