Routine.

This is coolbert:

Yet one more missile off-course. Routine maintenance as described not so routine!

Tip from Freeper the story by various Internet sources  ^ | 03/11/2022.

"India Accidentally Fired Missile Into Pakistan 'Due To Technical Malfunction': Says incident is deeply regrettable."

"Indian news agency Asian News International reports the Indian military accidentally fired an unarmed missile into Pakistan, calling the incident 'deeply regrettable.The defense ministry said the 'accidental firing' was due to a 'technical malfunction.'".

"Military experts have in the past warned of the risk of accidents or miscalculations by the nuclear-armed neighbours, which have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller armed clashes, usually over the disputed territory of Kashmir."

THE PAKISTANI COULD HAVE REASONABLY THOUGHT AT THAT EXACT MOMENT THIS LAUNCH WAS MORE THAN ACCIDENTAL? MISSILE AS INBOUND ARMED WITH A NUCLEAR WARHEAD!  THEY WOULD NOT KNOW UNTIL THE BIG BANG!

This being my instanteous reaction and thought to the story!

Malfunction! Regrettable! Accidental! YES indeed!

coolbert.

Agni.

This is coolbert:

An Agni missile launch. Within the Hindu pantheon of gods Agni the god of fire.

Yet more the topic a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan. What that will mean for the world and not just the sub-continent.

Thanks to the Russian Internet media outlet Russian Times [RT].

1. "Even ‘small-scale’ nuclear war between India and Pakistan would DEVASTATE global food supply – study"

THIS IS THE NUCLEAR WINTER HYPOTHESIS.

"A low-level nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan could wipe out large swaths of the world’s food supply, igniting cataclysmic fires that blot out the Sun in a decade-long nuclear winter, according to new research."

Indian and Pakistan between them have several hundred atomic weapons with yield roughly the same as the atomic bomb used on Hiroshima during World War Two [WW2]. Low-level!!

2. "‘No precedent in human experience’: Study finds nuclear war between India and Pakistan could leave 125 million dead"

"A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could kill up to 125 million people in just a few days – surpassing the death count of the entire Second World War – and kick off a worldwide environmental meltdown, a new study found."

That nuclear exchange IF LIMITED strictly to military targets estimates I have read the dead from those detonations alone at least ten million persons.

Deaths in the aftermath of the atomic detonations upwards of a hundred million or so? That for India and Pakistan combined and for those two nations alone?

NUCLEAR WINTER AS PERSISTING FOR DECADES ON A PLANETARY WIDE BASIS RESULTING IN CROP FAILURE OF A BIBLICAL SCALE, THE ENTIRE HUMAN SPECIES IN JEOPARDY.

See previous blog entries as applicable to the topic:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/03/india-pakistan.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/03/winter.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/03/threshold.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/03/armageddon.html

coolbert.

Endogenous.

This is coolbert:

More military news India thanks to WIZARD through Harry at Sharkhunters:

• "Russia has offered longer-range missiles to the Indian Air Force after the latter placed orders worth over $700 million for air-to-air missiles and guided missiles following the February Kashmir dogfight with Pakistan."

Presumably this is the Russian Vympel R-37 (NATO reporting name: Arrow) long-range air-air missile. Indian Air Force combat aircraft no longer needing to intrude into Pakistani airspace to engage warplanes they deem as hostile.

• "In 2016, the government [India] had decided to integrate the air-launched variant of the BrahMos, the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile, into over 40 Sukhoi fighter jets.  Weeks after the Balakot air strikes, the government decided to fast-track integration of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on over 40 Sukhoi fighter jets, a closely guarded strategic project."

BrahMos a supersonic cruise missile of the most advanced design, even without peer. Obvious the Indian Air Force [IAF] wants to have a capability to strike at Pakistani targets in a stand-off mode, IAF warplanes not intruding into Pakistani airspace. Now a fast-track item.

• "Beretta'sVictrix Armaments .338 Lapua Magnum Scorpio-TGT sniper rifle, Elite units [Indian army]  deployed along the LoC [Line of Contact. Dividing Kashmir. Indian army on one side, Pakistani army on the other] have been given the new rifle Emergency purchase of Barrett M95.50 BMG and Beretta Scorpio TGT Victoria .338 Lapua Magnum . . . [negating a] Pak [Pakistani] advantage on LoC India now has superior sniper power than Pakistan."

That .338 Lapua Magnum analogous to a big-game hunting rifle designed to bring down a major-sized animal such as a buffalo, rhino, etc.

• "India has joined the elite bloc of nations like Russia, Germany, Italy, and France with endogenously built heavyweight torpedoes for its submarines and warships."

"endogenous - -  adjective. proceeding from within; derived internally"

These are evidently 650 mm [25 1/2 inch] size torpedoes carrying a warhead of extraordinary size. A single torpedo of such size able to sink an aircraft carrier. Similar to the Russian Type 65 torpedo. Heavyweight as describe considerably larger than the conventional 533 mm [21 inch] torpedo most submarines carry.

coolbert.

Honey.

This is coolbert:

Jawan beware! Aisha, Fareeda, Laila and Yasmin are not your friend.

From the Internet web site Strategy Page an full article [first paragraph copied here in entirety] as devoted to how Indian soldiers entrapped for espionage purposes by social media, smart phones, malware. I recommend the article highly without qualification or reservation.

"Winning: Honey Trap Wars"

"June 8, 2019: Once more the Indian Army found one of its personnel recruited as a spy by Pakistani agents pretending to be an Indian woman who entraps the soldier as a regular supplied of information. The latest case was unusual in that the female Pakistani agent calling an army staff officer serving in the headquarters of a unit stationed in northeast India. The Pakistan spy said she was from the Army Wives Welfare Association but that officer was away from the office and the call was transferred to a 25 year old corporal. The Pakistani agent found the corporal suitable for entrapment and during their brief phone call persuaded him to contact her via her Internet accounts on WhatsApp and Instagram to continue their conversation. That was how the Pakistani agent 'developed' the corporal as a provider of information on Indian army troop movements."

The single best way to get a man to talk of secrets he knows is the femme fatale. Men have a tremendous desire to impress women they ARE somebody. What better way to impress than reveal secrets "in confidence" of course. And once that first indiscretion made, believe me, ain't no going back.

coolbert.

India-Pakistan.

This is coolbert:

Here with extracts from an article as seen at the Internet web site Strategy Page. Title of blog entry in large measure as shamelessly copied.

"India-Pakistan: Weapons Of Mass Distraction"

1. Regarding the first-use of atomic munitions "low-threshold" of the Pakistani military during a time of war with India.

"Pakistan now insists it would only use its nukes if there were a major non-nuclear Indian attack/invasion of Pakistan. At the same time, the Pakistani military (which currently controls many senior elected officials) insists any such conventional attack would fail."

See the previous blog entry that "low-threshold" as defined!

2. Erasing India 

"India has not been forgotten by the Chinese. Recently Chinese customs officials discovered a shipment of 30,000 world maps being exported by a Chinese printer to a foreign customer. The maps were seized and destroyed when it was discovered that the maps showed the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of India. China demands that all maps used or produced in China show Arunachal Pradesh as 'Southern Tibet' and part of China. Same with Taiwan, which is also considered another prodigal province".

See previous blog entries the topic disputed sovereignty as defined by maps, coinage, paper currency, television weather broadcast insets, passports:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/11/stamps-maps.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/06/insets.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/11/passport.html

coolbert.

Three-fold.

This is coolbert:

NOT just pantomime?

"India, Pakistan threatened to unleash missiles at each other: sources"

Thanks to the tip from Freeper the original story as obtained from Reuters.

Closed to the nuclear holocaust than thought? From Freeper and copied more or less in entirety.

"The sparring between India and Pakistan last month threatened to spiral out of control and only interventions by U.S. officials, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, headed off a bigger conflict, five sources familiar with the events said."

"At one stage, India threatened to fire at least six missiles at Pakistan, and Islamabad said it would respond with its own missile strikes 'three times over', according to Western diplomats and government sources in New Delhi, Islamabad and Washington.

"The way in which tensions suddenly worsened and threatened to trigger a war between the nuclear-armed nations shows how the Kashmir region, which both claim and is at the core of their enmity, remains one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints."

"flashpoint - n - 1. something that causes violence or conflict to flare up 2. a critical moment beyond which a situation will inevitably erupt into violence"

Missiles "unleashed" does not necessarily mean missiles with an atomic warhead? Or I am being overly optimistic and naive?

coolbert.

Renewal.

This is coolbert:

We've only just begun?

The India/Pakistan crisis/skirmish not over?

Once more from the latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter:

"India and Pakistan on alert to renew Kashmir skirmishes"

14 March.

"Western intelligence sources report that India and Pakistan are bracing for a resumed round of hostilities over Kashmir. On Thursday, both air forces were on high war readiness. On Wednesday, the Indian air force downed two Pakistani drones over the Indian side of Kashmir. The Pakistani air force is reported to have moved its entire fleet of F-16 fighter bombers to bases close to the Indian border and placed them on the ready."

Pantomime not over? More rituals forthcoming? That is what this all seems to me.

FOR A SHORT TIME THERE IT SEEMED AS IF THE INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT WAS GOING TO GO NUCLEAR IN THE WARFARE SENSE OF THE WORD.

See the most recent and prior blog entries the topic the India/Pakistan crisis/skirmish and atomic war as a possible:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/03/winter.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/03/encounters.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/03/threshold.html

coolbert.

Winter.

This is coolbert:

Small-scale they call it.

We are back to the future. Nuclear winter deja vu all over again?

And is relevant to the ongoing India-Pakistani crisis.

"How a nuclear war between India and Pakistan could reverse global warming"

"We're at a scary moment internationally as tensions escalate between the nuclear powers of India and Pakistan, and we should all be praying for things to calm down. In addition to the horrible death toll and humanitarian crisis that would follow, according to scientists, a small-scale nuclear war could actually reverse global warming and actually cause devastating global cooling."

This is similar to the Nuclear Winter hypothesis as was the rage over thirty years ago now.

This particular You Tube video describes the exact scenario of a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan! Detonation of hundreds of atomic warheads [a nuclear exchange between Pakistan and India] of the Hiroshima size [twenty kilotons] within the time span of a few hours to several days at the most. Cooling on a planetary scale with world-wide devastation as a result!! Not even counting radioactivity.

AS I RECALL IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT THE MORE OR LESS SIMULTANEOUS DETONATION OF A THOUSAND HIROSHIMA-SIZED ATOMIC WEAPONS WOULD CAUSE IRREPARABLE HARM ON A GLOBAL-SCALE!

India and Pakistan between them have less than half that number of a thousand nuclear warheads? So we are good to go then?

coolbert.

Encounters.

This is coolbert:

Crisis between India and Pakistan not simply relegated to air strikes and air combat activity. Ground units also involved.

As reported by Russian controlled [?] sources.

1. "De-escalation delayed: India & Pakistan exchange shelling on Kashmir border, casualties reported"

"Just a day after an Indian pilot was freed from Pakistani captivity, offering hope for de-escalation, the two countries resumed shelling in Kashmir, killing a number of civilians on both sides, according to local authorities."

2. "Terrorists in India's Kashmir Kill 4 Soldiers, Gun Battle Still Raging - Reports"

"The encounter reportedly broke out at midnight after a joint team of the Indian army's 22 Rashtriya Rifle, 92 Battalion Central Reserve Police Force and local police launched an operation at Khanan Babagund in Langate, acting on a tip-off about the presence of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in the area."

Dispute and conflict between Indian and Pakistan follows almost a set-piece routine? Incident, followed by retaliation and then counter-retaliation. Tension involving weapons fire between the two adversaries for a period followed by de-escalation and then relative calm. Almost a pantomime ritual but with deaths however.

Kashmir however remains divided as ever with hardly ever it seems any resolution to a seventy year old low-intensity war between two nuclear powers.

coolbert.

Threshold.

This is coolbert:

DEFCON-3.

Will they or won't they? Use atomic weapons!

Thanks to the tip from Paulie and the article by Michael Kugelman

"Opinion: India, Pakistan, and the remote but real threat of nuclear war"

"India and Pakistan are currently embroiled in their most serious crisis in several decades. While a nuclear exchange between the two sides is highly unlikely, the possibility nevertheless remains"

"For years, it’s been a bedrock principle of international security: Possessing nuclear weapons deters nations from using them in warfare. Indeed, since 1945, no country has used one. However, there’s an important caveat to this: Nuclear weapons may forestall nuclear exchanges, but they don’t deter nuclear states from using military force against each other."

PAKISTAN IN CONTRAST TO INDIA SAID TO HAVE A LOW NUCLEAR THRESHOLD!!

MEANING THE PAKISTANI WILL RESORT TO THE USE OF ATOMIC WEAPONS QUICKER AND FOR LESS REASON!!

See from a variety of Internet web sites a discussion of the LOW Pakistani nuclear threshold as perceived:

http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/pak-lowers-nuclear-threshold

https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201902281072837922-india-pakistan-air-clash/

https://fpif.org/threshold-nuclear-war-pakistan-india-keeps-dropping/

https://www.geo.tv/latest/23659-pak-appears-to-cross-nuclear-threshold-against-india

coolbert.

Surprise.

This is coolbert:

Yet more from the South Asia Terrorism Portal [SATP] as reported the crisis between India and Pakistan as you might well imagine a topic of concern. As copied in entirety and thanks to the Portal:

"Detail Of Terrorism Update - - Wednesday, February 27, 2019"

"Get ready for a ‘surprise’ ISPR DG Major General Asif Ghafoor responded over Indian air strike claim"

"Pakistan on February 26 categorically rejected Indian claim of carrying out an airstrike in the Pakistani territory and killing 350 terrorists, declaring the incursion just a ‘dry run’ that was effectively and immediately repulsed by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), reports Daily Times. 'Today, the prime minister has asked everyone to get ready for every eventuality. We are all ready. Now it is time for India to wait for our response,' Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press conference. 'The response will come at a point and time of our choosing, where our civil-military leadership decides, and as a matter of fact, has decided,' he added."

"TIME AND PLACE OF OUR CHOOSING". AND ALREADY HAS?

coolbert.

JeM.

This is coolbert:

From the South Asia Terrorism Portal as reported the crisis between India and Pakistan as you might well imagine a topic of concern. As copied in entirety and thanks to the Portal:

"Detail Of Terrorism Update -- Wednesday, February 27, 2019"

"Around 350 militants killed in Indian Air Force’s strike on JeM camp inside Pakistan"

"Indian Air Force (IAF) on February 26 carried out pre-dawn air strikes pounding Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)’s biggest training camp at Balakote in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan, about 80 kilometers deep inside Pakistan from the Line of Control (LoC), killing over 350 terrorists including top ‘commanders’ of JeM, trainers and recruits, reports Daily Excelsior. According to the reports the militants were sleeping in ‘five-star’ facility equipped terror camp when the fighter jets pounded it with laser guided bombs weighing over 1000 kilograms [2,000 pounds]."

FIVE-STAR FACILITY? RAID ATTACKING A CAMP AS REPORTED EIGHTY KILOMETERS BEYOND THE BORDER WOULD INDICATE THIS WAS AN ATTACK PERHAPS NOT USING SPICE MUNITIONS?

coolbert.

Armageddon?

This is coolbert:

Courtesy the Russian controlled [?] media Russian Times see these two You Tube video.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the current India-Pakistani crisis. Please watch.

"Nuclear Armageddon v[ersus] new-found equilibrium: How far can current Indo-Pakistani confrontation go?" 

"Unfortunately, once you have this kind of weapons on both sides and if there is a desperate situation, then a desperate situation will lead to desperate measures."

Nothing more to say on my part other than "weapons on both sides" atomic weapons. Devoted readers to the blog reach your own conclusions.

coolbert.

APEX.

This is coolbert:

Consider this not needing any further elaboration.

National Command Authority. Apex! At the very top! Nuclear weapons?

"...Imran Khan convenes meeting of Pakistan's apex nuclear body after Balakot air strikes"

"Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has called for a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) in the aftermath of India's pre-emptive, non-military air strikes at terror camps in Balakot in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. This is the second high-level meeting that Imran has called for in the wake of the Indian Air Force's operation. On Tuesday, he had convened an emergency review meeting of top defence and foreign ministry officials."

FOLLOW THIS AND FOLLOW CLOSELY. THIS TROUBLING STORY CONTINUES!

See previous germane blog entries.

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/02/spice.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/02/who.html

coolbert.

Who!

This is coolbert:

Who will win? No one!

From the Russian controlled [?] media outlet Russian Times [RT] all you need to know regarding the current India/Pakistan crisis.

Nuclear war a possible?

1. "Who would win? India has army advantage over Pakistan, but nuclear stocks assure mutual destruction"

"Two historic rivals are at their closest to open conflict in years, after Indian jets carried out strikes on Pakistani territory on Tuesday. But how do the subcontinental powers stack up against each other?"

2. "Pakistan-India showdown: What you’re not being told"

"A recent terrorist attack in Kashmir could set the stage for a major conflict between India and Pakistan as India begins bombing Pakistani territory. As always, the root causes of these are being ignored by the media."

"On February 14, India was rocked by a suicide-bombing which took place inside Jammu and Kashmir. The attack targeted a convoy of security personnel vehicles, killing at least 42 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officers (as well as the bomber himself)."

3. "‘Danger and restraint’: Neither India nor Pakistan want to start nuclear war, former leaders insist"

"Despite tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors having reached dangerous levels following the deadly blast in Kashmir, a war between India and Pakistan is highly unlikely, former leaders of the two states have stressed."

CLOSEST! MAJOR! DANGEROUS! DEVOTED READERS TO THE BLOG DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES!

coolbert.

SPICE.

This is coolbert:

"The spice must flow!" Not that spice!

SPICE = Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective. Glide munitions. Strap-on kit.

See this outstanding You Tube video the topic SPICE munitions. Look at that F-16! So heavily laden with pylon loaded impedimenta. That air superiority fighter plane F-16 now and for some time a multi-role combat-aircraft. I am impressed.

"India IAF air strikes: Did India take the Israeli 'SPICE bomb' route?"

"As news of the Indian Air Force strike on terror targets in Pakistan dominated headlines across the world, speculation has begun on the kind of weapons the Mirage 2000 jets carried. The speculation has increased . . . [according to] some media agencies claim the Mirage 2000 fighters hit the targets from 'standoff' ranges, which meant they needn't have strayed significantly beyond the Line of Control."

INTRUSION OF PAKISTANI AIRSPACE BUT NOT SO MUCH SO? THAT IS WHAT HAS BEEN DONE? PLEASE DO NOT BE TERRIBLY OFFENDED!

coolbert.

Balakot.

This is coolbert:

"This is it boys. This is what we've been waiting for!" NO!

From Bloomberg and as is germane to a most recent blog entry the situation between India and Pakistan has taken the wrong course. Escalation. Indian Air Force [IAF] bombing of a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

Potential conflict between NUCLEAR-ARMED WORLD POWERS!!

1. "Nuclear-Armed India and Pakistan Face Off in Renewed Escalation"

"February 25 2019, 8:32 PM February 26 2019, 11:58 AM (Bloomberg) -- It’s the biggest escalation between South Asia’s nuclear-armed rivals in decades and with a bitterly contested national election in India just weeks away, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to exploit his military’s air

2. "Balakot Air Strike: The World Urges India And Pakistan To Avoid Escalation"

"February 26 2019, 10:35 AM February 26 2019, 12:08 PM A number of countries called for restraint and peace after India said its fighter jets carried out an early-morning strike in Pakistan’s Balakot, destroying the largest training camp of terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad."

A NUCLEAR EXCHANGE BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN MINIMUM TEN MILLION DEAD!! SUCH AN EVENT MUST BE FORESTALLED AND FAST! THESE THINGS CAN GET OUT OF HAND AND QUICK, THE PROVERBIAL HEARTBEAT AS THEY SAY!

coolbert.

Jammu & Kashmir.

This is coolbert:

As extracted from the South Asia Terrorism Portal [SATP] we have updates and background information on the situation in Kashmir, that insurgency and the response to same by the government of India.

SATP that perspective from the standpoint of the Indian analyst.

1. Assessment.

That assessment at the BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR rather upbeat. The number of incidents and casualties in Jammu and Kashmir on the decrease. That Indian army contingent practitioners of counter-insurgency operations perhaps the most experienced and BEST in the world. Lots and lots of experience and a well thought out methodology and doctrine for combating the guerrilla/terrorist/militant!

2. Timeline.

This the time for 2013 and the situation in contrast to the assessment [#1] not so good. Incidents and attacks both the number of intensity of same escalating. You can read it all mostly from this last August forward until present by scrolling to almost the bottom of the page.

3. Terrorist/Extremist/Insurgent groups.

That multiplicity of insurgents groups in Jammu and Kashmir most surprising. Factionalism and divided and diffused effort not conducive to a successful insurgency. That number of such groups over a period of many decades is nonetheless surprising?

Factionalism a problem always [?] a problem with the insurgent? Diffused and unfocused energy self-defeating and counter-productive.

According to the counter-insurgency expert the late David Galula that communist [not the case with Jammu and Kashmir] among those first two stages of an insurgency:

"1) the establishment of a party and a cause; 2) creating a united front"

NO SUCH thing as a "united front" existing in Jammu and Kashmir?

Normally that situation as currently existing in Jammu and Kashmir resolved by a negotiated settlement. This not being realistic now, or has been in the past, or even in the foreseeable future.

Hence goes Jammu and Kashmir?

coolbert.

Kashmir.

This is coolbert:

Thanks to Der Spiegel that latest update on Kashmir.

A legacy of the partition of the Indian sub-continent, that British Raj divided into Pakistan and India, BUT FROM OVER SIXTY YEARS AGO NOW [1947], THE STATUS OF KASHMIR NEVER RESOLVED!

That low-level intensity warfare characteristic of an insurgency continuing and only recently there being a marked escalation of hostilities very worrisome.

Two nuclear powers at the proverbial loggerheads a situation seeming to be without remediation.

"Himalayan Hotbed: Tensions Spike in Divided Kashmir"

"Violence has been on the rise again in the troubled province since the summer. On Aug. 6, Muslim extremists shot and killed five Indian soldiers. According to Indian sources, the Pakistani military helped the attackers. Since then, there have been border skirmishes between the Pakistanis and the Indians almost every day."

I was not aware a portion of Kashmir under Chinese control, that border never having been clearly define. That also a legacy of the Raj and British rule. And contentious no one wanting to give an inch or appear WEAK!

That Vale of Kashmir prior to 1947 perhaps among the top half dozen most popular tourist attraction for the international traveler. NOT SO for a long time, perhaps that aspect of life in Kashmir [tourism] gone forever?

The Hindu Pandits wine-shop owners several decades ago now many tens of thousands having to flee for their lives, so precarious was their position in Kashmir, targets of insurgents and ethnic cleansing on a scale before that term [ethnic cleansing] as now understood even popular.

Anyone have a suggestion as to how the conflict in Kashmir can be resolved? The concerned parties after a period seven decades not being able to reach an accommodation, however can a settlement be reached? I fear never.

coolbert.

Nukes!

This is coolbert:

“it’s the fastest-growing program in the world.”

Thanks to the recent article in Newsweek, the Pakistani is now reported and believed to be a MAJOR NUCLEAR POWER - - surpassing [?] France and already having exceeded Great Britain in the number of nuclear warheads either fielded, stockpiled or being manufactured. A trend that is only increasing, that large quantity of atomic weaponry far beyond a deterrent capacity? Very much an item of concern indeed!

"Pakistan’s Nuclear Surge"

"Photos obtained by NEWSWEEK reveal a more aggressive buildup than previously known."

In this particular case, civilian satellite imagery obtained by Newsweek. A capability at one time reserved only to the intelligence services of a few select nations around the world.

"Even in the best of times, Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons program warrants alarm . . . new evidence suggests that Pakistan’s nuclear program is barreling ahead at a furious clip."

"According to new commercial-satellite imagery obtained exclusively by NEWSWEEK, Pakistan is aggressively accelerating construction at the Khushab nuclear site . . . Pakistan will soon have a fourth operational reactor, greatly expanding plutonium production for its nuclear-weapons program."

That marked increase in the number of atomic warheads even beyond what might be considered to be a reasonable deterrent capability is a big concern NOT ONLY for the Indian government, but for the rest of the world as well!! Pakistan is fraught with great danger from military coup d'etat, an ineffectual civilian political structure, terrorism, and just plain instability - - all that from what is fast becoming a major world nuclear power!!

That lethal combination does not mix well, atomic bombs and instability! Obvious! Suggestions anyone?

coolbert.