The Ticking Time Bomb: South Asia's Nuclear Build-up

As the world seeks to limit nuclear weapons and shrink existing stockpiles, India and Pakistan have continued to modernize their arsenals. The danger of this build-up is amplified by the crisis-prone nature of the India-Pakistan relationship. Experts fear that in the absence of robust confidence building measures, a future bilateral crisis may well spiral out of control. While both sides acknowledge the dangers, neither has shown any signs of reconsidering plans to modernize their weapons or to expand use of civilian nuclear power.

On July 18, USIP convened an expert panel to undertake an assessment of South Asia's nuclear build-up, and the ways in which the U.S. can support confidence building measures to decrease the threat of nuclear conflict. The panelists were participants from the Ottawa Dialogue, a senior level Track-II dialogues between Indian and Pakistani opinion-makers support by USIP aimed at addressing nuclear issues.

Speakers:

Shahzad Chaudhry, panelist
Air Vice Marshall (Rtd.)
Pakistan Air Force
Toby Dalton, panelist
Deputy Director, Nuclear Policy Program
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Jamshed Hashmi, panelist
Chairman Emeritus
Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority
Vijay Shankar, panelist
Vice Admiral, Indian Navy (Rtd.); and
former Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Strategic Forces Command
Moeed Yusuf
South Asia Adviser
United States Institute of Peace