![\"Operation](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133269222,imgsize-1133354,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/pakistan-army-file-photo.jpg\" "\\"Pakistan\u2019s")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nPakistan\u2019s experience during its military confrontation with India in May 2025 has exposed the limitations of nuclear deterrence, with the country increasingly shifting its focus towards conventional military power, according to a report by the US-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.The military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours came after India launched Operation Sindoor<\/a>, a strong retaliatory counterterror action following the Pakistan-backed terrorist attack in South Kashmir\u2019s Pahalgam.The report unveiled that Pakistan\u2019s strategic establishment appears to have confronted a “difficult reality” following the conflict: nuclear weapons \u201chave limits\u201d. They did not prevent the crisis from unfolding, deter India from carrying out strikes deep inside Pakistan or provide Islamabad with a decisive way out once hostilities began.The assessment by US-based body comes at a time when several countries are showing renewed interest in nuclear weapons amid concerns over security guarantees and changing global strategic dynamics.<\/p>\n According to the report, Pakistan\u2019s commemorations of the first anniversary of the May 2025 conflict, known as Marka-e-Haq, and the anniversary of its 1998 nuclear tests, Youm-e-Takbeer, offered clues about the changing role of nuclear weapons in the country\u2019s security narrative.While Marka-e-Haq was elevated into a prominent state narrative, Youm-e-Takbeer received comparatively little attention in May 2026.\u201cThere were no large-scale celebrations, and no sustained media attention,\u201d the report said, mentioning that senior civilian and military officials issued only brief statements on social media.The contrast was particularly notable because Pakistan\u2019s ruling party Sharif brothers-led Pakistan Muslim League has historically highlighted the decision to conduct the country\u2019s nuclear tests in May 1998.The report also pointed to the visual messaging across Islamabad, where public displays focused heavily on conventional military achievements, military leaders and battlefield successes.\u201cNuclear weapons and nuclear-capable missiles were conspicuously absent from these images of militarization,\u201d it said, arguing that this reflected a deliberate shift in the state\u2019s messaging.<\/p>\n The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists linked the shift to the Pakistani military\u2019s political interests, arguing that conventional military achievements offer a more visible way of demonstrating power and strengthening the armed forces\u2019 public image.\u201cThe political interests of the military and its institutions are better served by conventional military success than nuclear weapons,\u201d the report said.It argued that nuclear weapons have helped Pakistan\u2019s military reinforce its position as the country\u2019s principal guardian of national security, but their ability to generate popular support is more limited.\u201cFor a military establishment emerging from one of the most serious legitimacy crises in Pakistan\u2019s history, highlighting conventional military achievements therefore has much more political value than celebrating the bomb,\u201d the report said.The assessment pointed to Pakistan\u2019s increased defence spending and the establishment of a new Army Rocket Force Command as signs of the growing emphasis on conventional military capability.<\/p>\n The report also questioned Pakistan\u2019s long-standing doctrine of \u201cfull-spectrum deterrence\u201d, under which nuclear weapons were presented as a means of preventing aggression across the conflict spectrum.\u201cThe promise, which goes by the name full-spectrum deterrence, was huge but false,\u201d it said.The May 2025 conflict, according to the report, demonstrated the gap between the claims surrounding nuclear deterrence and what nuclear weapons could actually accomplish during a military crisis.\u201cNuclear deterrence did not prevent the May 2025 crisis,\u201d it said. \u201cThe fear of escalation did not keep India from striking deep in Pakistan\u2019s heartland.\u201dUnder Operation Sindoor, India targeted nine major terror facilities across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and later struck 11 Pakistani airbases in response to Islamabad\u2019s military escalation.The report said the limitations of nuclear deterrence had become increasingly difficult for Pakistan\u2019s strategic establishment to conceal.<\/p>\n The report argued that Pakistan\u2019s nuclear arsenal not only failed to provide a solution during the confrontation but also introduced additional risks.\u201cNuclear weapons did not deter the crisis from unfolding, nor did they offer policymakers a way out once hostilities escalated,\u201d it said.Instead, the presence of nuclear weapons constrained Pakistan\u2019s response options because of the possibility of miscalculation and inadvertent escalation.The report cited the challenge Pakistan faced in responding to India’s missile strikes under Operation Sindoor. Any conventionally armed missile launch could potentially be misinterpreted by India as the beginning of a nuclear attack, creating a risk of rapid escalation.\u201cThe challenge was not simply how to respond, but how to respond without triggering catastrophic miscalculation,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n The report also referred to reports that Pakistan had convened, or was preparing to convene, its national command authority during the final stages of the confrontation, shortly before the United States announced a ceasefire.It said the significance lay less in whether the meeting actually took place and more in what the possibility revealed about the trajectory of the crisis.\u201cThe crisis had reached a point when nuclear command and control entered the public discourse, narrowing the margin for error and increasing the urgency of de-escalation,\u201d the report said.International diplomatic intervention helped bring about a ceasefire before the risks escalated further, it added.<\/p>\n The report said Pakistan\u2019s experience does not necessarily disprove the theory of nuclear deterrence, but demonstrates the dangers of treating nuclear weapons as a universal answer to security challenges.\u201cIf anything, this experience reveals that the utility of nuclear weapons is narrower than many of their advocates claim,\u201d it said.For countries considering acquiring nuclear weapons, Pakistan\u2019s experience offers a different question, according to the report.Instead of asking only what nuclear weapons can provide in terms of security, countries should also consider \u201cwhat military constraints and risks the bomb introduces.\u201d<\/div>\n Pakistan\u2019s nuclear weapons \u2018did not deter\u2019 India strikes in 2025: US report Pakistan\u2019s experience during its military confrontation with India in May 2025 has exposed the limitations of nuclear deterrence, with the country increasingly shifting its focus towards conventional military power, according to a report by the US-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.The military confrontation 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nuclear weapons \u2018did not deter\u2019 India strikes in 2025: US report Pakistan\u2019s experience during its military confrontation with India in May 2025 has exposed the limitations of nuclear deterrence, with the country increasingly shifting its focus towards conventional military power, according to a report by the US-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.The military confrontation […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 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\u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Nuclear weapons take a back seat<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Conventional military power gains prominence<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\u2018Full-spectrum deterrence\u2019 exposed<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Nuclear weapons became part of the problem<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Warning for countries seeking nuclear weapons<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"