South Asia

Pakistan’s Nuclear Journey: From Disparity to Deterrence

Usama Khan May 28, 2025

Pakistan’s emergence as a nuclear power on May 28, 1998, was shaped by deep security anxieties following the 1971 war and India’s 1974 nuclear test. Spearheaded by leaders like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and advanced under military stewardship, the program combined scientific innovation—led by Dr. A.Q. Khan—with a covert procurement network. The 1998 Chagai tests, responding to India’s Pokhran-II, marked Pakistan’s entry into the nuclear club, framed as a bid to restore regional strategic balance. Despite immediate sanctions, international responses soon softened. Nuclearization has since fostered a fragile deterrence in South Asia—curbing full-scale war while enabling low-intensity conflict, encapsulating the region’s enduring “stability-instability paradox.

Chess pieces with Pakistan and India symbols face off amid an explosion, symbolizing rising tensions and Pakistan’s full-spectrum diplomacy manoeuvre. [Image via The Diplomat].

Beyond the Missiles: Pakistan’s Full-Spectrum Pivot to Diplomacy

Salman Javed May 25, 2025

In the silent theater of diplomacy, where words weigh more than warheads, Pakistan choreographed a masterstroke—turning India’s bluster into a backdrop for its quiet, calculated ascent on the regional stage.

Economic Nerve Centers of India at Risk in Future Conflict

SAT Web Administrator May 23, 2025

A chilling shift in Pakistan’s strategic posture signals a potential new front in future India-Pakistan conflicts: economic warfare. In response to recent military escalations, Islamabad is reportedly prepared to target India’s industrial hubs, threatening vital economic infrastructure and financial interests linked to the ruling elite. As deterrence evolves, New Delhi must reassess its security doctrine to safeguard the backbone of its economic power.

Constructing the Other: The Indian State’s Long War on Sikh Identity

Usama Khan May 22, 2025

Since India’s independence in 1947, the Sikh community has faced a persistent pattern of marginalization through legal subversion, political suppression, and violent repression. From the denial of religious identity in the Constitution to the storming of the Golden Temple and the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms, this article examines how state institutions have systematically undermined Sikh rights, expression, and autonomy—both within India and across borders.