Nuclear South Asia and Strategic Stability – the special edition of Policy Perspectives (Vol. 13, No.1)

25 Feb 2016

Nuclear South Asia and Strategic Stability – the special edition of Policy Perspectives (Vol. 13, No.1)

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The special edition of Policy Perspectives – a peer-reviewed flagship journal of Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad; covering assorted topics concerning nuclear South Asia and the strategic stability – has been published now and is widely available for the readers.

Editor: Khalid Rahman
Volume: 13
Number: 1
Pages: 170
Retail Price (Pak): PKR600
Annual Subscription: PKR1000
Export Price: $60 (per copy)
Annual International Subscription: $120

 

The special edition of Policy Perspectives – a peer-reviewed flagship journal of Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad; covering assorted topics concerning nuclear South Asia and the strategic stability – has been published now and is widely available for the readers.

The special issue keeps up with the journal’s tradition of presenting diverse perspectives on evolving regional and global scenarios.

The first article ‘Strategic Ambiguities in Indian Nuclear Doctrine: Implications for Pakistan’s Security’, which is penned by Umar Hayat Luk from Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (NIPCONS), National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, critically examines the broad contours of India’s nuclear doctrine and traces the consequences on the security calculus of Pakistan.

The second article ‘Pakistan’s Nuclear Program: The Context’ is authored by Air Cdre (r) Khalid Iqbal, former senior officer of Pakistan Air Force and member IPS-National Academic Council, who views Pakistan’s nuclear weapon program in the context of the threat it faces.

The next piece ‘Deterrence in Indo-Pak Context: A Critical Appraisal’ by Ahmad Khan, Department of Strategic Studies, National Defense University (NDU), Islamabad, and Ali Ahsan, post graduate student, International Relations Department, NDU, Islamabad, stresses India and Pakistan to maintain rational decision-making to ensure the credibility of their deterrence and to achieve the objective of maintaining stability.

‘The Changing Contours of Minimum Deterrence in South Asia’ is contributed by Dr Zafar Khan, assistant professor, Department of Strategic Studies, NDU, Islamabad, who stresses that the unjust attitudes of international community favoring one side against the other, the absence of criteria based approach, and the strategic pressure on Pakistan pulling it into arms competition undermines the dynamics of minimum deterrence and strategic stability in South Asia.

The Implications of Indian Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) and the Cruise Missiles in South Asia on the region’s strategic stability are discussed in next two articles by Ibrahim Anjum, Ph.D. scholar, NDU, Islamabad, and Kulsoom Belal, assistant research coordinator, IPS, Islamabad.

The article by Asim Ahmed, Ph.D. scholar, NDU, Islamabad, evaluates Tactical Nuclear Weapons (TNWs) on a conceptual platform, examining the role of India’s Cold Start Doctrine/Proactive Military Strategy and Pakistan’s embryonic concept of TNWs in deterrence stability and instability in South Asia, in order to draw pertinent lessons for Pakistan to ensure deterrence stability in the region.

The final piece by Muhammad Umar, assistant professor, School of Sciences and Humanities, NUST, Islamabad, titled ‘Nasr: A Product of Pakistan’s Strategic Culture’ argues that the Cold Start Doctrine is in fact real and can be materialized, and for that reason Pakistan has had to respond to the threat it poses. The piece attempts to understand Pakistan’s response to the Cold Start Doctrine by trying to grasp its strategic culture.

It is also pertinent to mention that IPS’ bi-annual journal Policy Perspectives disseminates the research carried out by the Institute and its associates. Alongside its printed copies, the journal is also available online to the global audience through Pluto Journals on JSTOR (www.jstor.org) and on Factiva and affiliated international databases through Asianet-Pakistan.

Contents
Editorial     Policy Perspectives 13
Strategic Ambiguities in Indian Nuclear Doctrine Implications for Pakistan’s Security

Umar Hayat Luk
Pakistan’s Nuclear Program: The Context

Khalid Iqbal
Deterrence in Indo-Pak Context: A Critical Appraisal

Ahmad Khan and Ali Ahsan
The Changing Contours of Minimum Deterrence in South Asia

Zafar Khan
Implications of Indian Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) on Strategic Stability

Ibrahim Anjum
Cruise Missiles in South Asia: Implications for Regional Strategic Stability:

Kulsoom Belal
Tactical Nuclear Weapons (TNWs) or Flexible Response Choosing the Right Strategy

Asim Ahmed
Nasr: A Product of Pakistan’s Strategic Culture

Muhammad Umar
 

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* Research Associate, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, Pakistan; Doctoral Fellow, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. This paper is part of an ongoing IPS Research Program.

Pakistan is often discussed at domestic and international forums in the context of its treatment of the religious minorities and more particularly the alleged forced religious conversions to Islam. This paper is in continuation of a recent report by the author that discussed the narrative of systematic and organized forced religious conversions in Pakistan to show that it is not supported by any data or verifiable evidence. The paper presents preliminary results of the fieldwork that collected data from the province of Sindh in Pakistan. The data gathered comprises audio-visual interviews from a cross-section of the society, official documents, and data of converts. While the study could not find cases of forced conversion, it notes that the force is used against the neo-converts through various means. It identifies 13 push and pull factors that contribute to religious conversions in the context of the area of this study. It also looks into the widespread perception of only women being converted, or the age of converted individuals generally being below 18 years.

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* Research Associate, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, Pakistan; Doctoral Fellow, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. This paper is part of an ongoing IPS Research Program.

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* Geostrategic Analyst; affiliated with the Golden Ring Economic Forum (GREF), Lahore, Pakistan.

** PhD; Visiting Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore; Senior Research Fellow, Golden Ring Economic Forum (GREF), Lahore, Pakistan.

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* PhD Scholar, Department of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.

** Assistant Editor, Policy Perspectives, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, Pakistan.

Utilizing Militia Forces in Modern Warfare: Role and Challenges

Muhammad Nasrullah Mirza* and  Naveed Mushtaq**

Abstract

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Bukhtawer Pervaz*

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