India-Russia nuclear Deal

Muhammad Saeed
Wars are planned to be fought on the enigma of attaining or bringing peace and security; such thoughts and ventures mainly emanating from the US are implemented by waging wars and conflicts in areas of interest. The US became a nuclear power as a result of attaining the expertise in nuclear technology. Consequently the US tested this scientific attainment at the world arena through a war in 1945 to bring peace and also to showcase its military prowess and deter potential and real enemies in future. The use of nuclear bombs on one side brought peace to some but devastation and fright to others. Similarly many countries also developed their own nuclear weapons under unusual conditions in the name of securing their respective countries from aggression and gradually capitalized on this particular power multilaterally including preventing others from joining the elite club of nuclear powers. In nutshell a legacy established by the US is also followed by many countries to either avoid catastrophe and aggression from more powerful as well as in a step forward to deter others rather than keeping the power limited to securing their sovereignty. The later state of affairs has hence become a negative bequest that has dominated legitimate pursuit for keeping threat at bay through nuclear power by some countries like Pakistan.
Experts had pointed to China’s 1964 explosion as the impetus for the launch of India’s strategic nuclear programme. But Pakistan’s development in the field has not been treated in the same manner as the result of Indian nuclear programme. Delhi’s first nuclear fission device was tested in 1974 and was termed by the government a peaceful nuclear explosion. India’s test drew protests internationally and was condemned as a violation of the NPT, which had entered into force almost four years back in 1970. This particular test by India spurred the creation of NSG to prevent the misuse of technology from civilian nuclear energy cooperation for the development of weapons. Delhi although waited until May 1998 to conduct five nuclear explosions but did not refrained from using civil nuclear technology for flipping into military use. Russia also being a nuclear power in contemporary strategic environment has started viewing the US and NATO a grave security threat to its peace in the newly emergent cold war environment.
The United States and India negotiated a ‘civil nuclear’ deal beginning in 2005, which was later signed into the US law in 2008. Washington saw the deal as a so called practical way to overcome barriers to cooperation; according to CFR’s Alyssa Ayres, also because the US believed it would be better to have India inside the international nonproliferation tent than outside. The US hardly has applied this conjecture to provide civil nuclear technology to Pakistan, under a biased fear and unfounded distrust of Pakistan using given technology for military purposes. On the other hand other nuclear energy powers also boost India’s civilian programme as Japan, Australia and Canada have pledged to negotiate a nuclear energy pact with India. Russia has assisted India for years on the construction of reactors, with the newest deals during Mr. Modi’s December 13 visit to Moscow, Russia has pledged to construct six nuclear reactors in India.
While India remains outside the NPT and the CTBT, America and Russia giving India nuclear technology is liable to increase insecurity for Pakistan. Since ambitious security and political objectives motivate India’s strategic nuclear programme therefore Pakistan is logically pressed hard to strengthen its nuclear facilities and enhance nuclear prowess to safeguards its security and maintain peace in the region. The US-India and Russia-India nuclear deals have provided India with incentive to threaten Pakistan while increasing the chances of an unending weapons race that is too for acquiring nuclear technology and weapons damaging export control regimes and standards of various international nonproliferation guidelines, including the NSG, the Australia Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Wassenaar Arrangement. India nuclear doctrine is hence obliquely now emphasizing that its nuclear program is intended to establish a robust deterrent to Pakistan under the garb of deterring China from aggression. Moreover, the new doctrine explicitly states that India’s posture is meant to massively designed to inflict unacceptable damage to its adversaries.
Delhi hence has placed considerable political and strategic value in its nuclear programme as a means to improve its status after Russian decision to empower India with nuclear technology. Historical tensions and high levels of distrust among its neighbors also is likely to push Pakistan to develop nuclear weapons to strengthen its national security and maintain peace. if India views Chinese nuclear programme a security threat, then Pakistan is also right to view India a grave threat and as a result Islamabad seeking capabilities to counter India in the arena of conventional power. Pakistan’s assessment of India’s nuclear activity is further coloured by the US and Russia’s role in providing India with nuclear material and technology. Since coming to power in May 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased his parleys to grab nuclear technology from all directions making the region more volatile in terms of threatening peace and security of Pakistan.