Although Pakistani generals have made numerous efforts to adorn the armed forces of the country with tactical nuclear weapons, fears about the safety and security of these weapons remain a big question. Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine revolves around the first use of nuclear weapons in case of Indian aggression. Moreover, their basic purpose is to defeat India’s conventional superiority in the event of war between the two states. There have been reports in the international press that Pakistan is the fastest growing nuclear state but new developments in India show that the country is two times faster in retrieving nuclear weapons than Pakistan. Pakistan is a country plagued by deep economic and political insecurity, locked in military confrontations with India and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, it supports the Taliban, and in India the country helps Kashmiri mujahideen. Before the visit of the Chinese president recently, the army purchased eight submarines from China, which raised some questions, including one about whether these submarines had the capacity to be equipped with nuclear missiles. This was the biggest deal in Pakistan history, giving strength to the armed forces as the navy is struggling to adorn its submarines with nuclear weapons. Pakistan has its own strategic rationales for developing naval nuclear capabilities, which are at least partly independent of a simple desire to mirror India’s advances. As the naval forces of Pakistan retrieved Augusta 90B submarines fitted with the air independent propulsion (AIP) system, the country military command is striving to further equip its navy with Harpoon Block 11 missiles. As stated above, according to some reports, these submarines can be modified to deliver nuclear weapons.However, India continues to threaten Pakistan by various means, including the introduction of the nuclear theatre and cold start. The creation of the nuclear theatre has caused deep concern in Pakistan that it could pit India against Pakistan and China. Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme is also India focused while the country has no option but to start testing nuclear missiles of various ranges. At present, India and Pakistan maintain a huge stockpile of nuclear weapons and also pledge minimal deterrence but, despite all such efforts, the size of these stockpiles continues to increase. Both the states are testing cruise missiles and are desperately seeking nuclear submarines to ensure the protection of their nations. Pakistan’s nuclear programme is said to have received Chinese assistance since 1970 in case of design and upgrade, but the armed forces of the country are not ultimately dependent on China. The army runs 15 nuclear sites in which 70,000 well-trained scientists work. Pakistan and India are also developing tactical nuclear weapons that have increased the risk of misperception and unintended escalation. D Suba Chandran explains the unnecessary nuclear arms race between the two states: “Defining ‘winning’ a nuclear race will answer the above question. Does winning mean taking a lead in the race? Or does it mean creating nuclear stability in the region? This will remain India’s greatest conundrum; even if it takes the lead in terms of numbers, that superiority will never create an environment of nuclear stability vis-a-vis Pakistan.”In January 2015, the visit of the US president to India and nuclear cooperation between the two states further exacerbated the nuclear race in the subcontinent. A key advisor on Pakistan’s foreign policy, Sartaj Aziz has warned that the deal between India and the US will renew the arms race in South Asia. “The US ignored Pakistan’s concerns conveyed before President Obama’s visit to India,” Aziz said. As the Indian Ocean becomes the centre of military confrontation, India wants to deploy nuclear-armed submarines, prompting China to enter the race at the end of this year. The development in Pakistan of smaller warheads to be used in the case of war against India has caused deep concern in the international community that these weapons may possibly cause a long war between the two states. The rapidly expanding nuclear installations and uranium processing programmes in India and Pakistan have also caused fear and anxiety. The growing stockpile of nuclear fissionable materials, the changing method of terrorist operations and the availability of portable nuclear explosives material have all raised several questions about the possibility use and smuggling of these materials.The ongoing war on terror in Afghanistan, Operation Zarb-e-Azab in North Waziristan and FATA and the crises in the Middle East and Ukraine have threatened the stability of South Asia. Diplomatic efforts have done little to decrease tensions between India and Pakistan. As Islamic State (IS) has next to opened its franchise in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the possible use of nuclear and biological terrorism have become limpid. The availability of nuclear materials could come from illicit transactions of poorly protracted materials within the region. We understand that Pakistan has established a nuclear force of all but 25,000 well-trained soldiers but, if we look at the last five years, terrorist attacks on the country’s nuclear sites, these forces could be less able to positively respond to the violent terrorist threat of IS. Much remains to be done despite Pakistan’s preparedness in the field of nuclear safety and security. Experts see nuclear and radiological terrorism as a real threat. For Pakistan and India, the threat of nuclear terrorism is a new challenge. In January 2015, Khushab’s fourth water reactor became functional, which will enhance the production of weapons grade plutonium. The reactor is situated in Jauharabad district where the Punjabi Taliban have established their network while forces of IS are on their way to Khushab and Mianwali districts. The government and the army of the country must be vigilant about their activities. IS has also established networks in Gujranwala, Gujrat, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Sadiqabad and Karachi, and wants to challenge the writ of the government. Last week, Debra Lobo, a US national was wounded by a group of gunmen belonging to IS in Karachi. Last month, the head of the Canadian intelligence agency, Mr Michel Coulombe, warned that forces belonging to IS were spreading in Pakistan and Afghanistan. “IS started in Iraq and Syria but what we are seeing now, and you have seen it in the media, it is spreading in Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Michel said. The writer is author of Punjabi Taliban and can be reached at zai.musakhan222@gmail.com