Warning signs from the subcontinent

Although much hullabaloo was made over the brave “cricket diplomacy” exercised last month by Prime Ministers Raza Gilani and Singh, there are worrying developments in Indian-Pakistani relations — most of which are coming, unsurprisingly, from Pakistan.

Pakistan is in danger of placing itself along a path toward nuclear war. It’s bad enough that they are expanding their nuclear weapons stockpile at a rapid clip. What’s even worse is that the army is now testing a nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missile (SRBM). The Hatf-9 SRBM endangers the precarious nuclear stability of the area by introducing a “tactical” nuclear element that was assumed to be on the wane. The missile’s short range and low yield makes it suitable for battlefield or “counterforce” usage, which nuclear theorists believe is an invitation to nuclear escalation. The minimal warning time afforded to Indian troops incentivizes the Indian army to attack with its own force as soon as they think a nuke has been launched.

This development comes at a time when U.S.-Pakistani relations are at an all-time low. Even Adm. Mike Mullen, the cheerleader for the Pakistani Army in Washington, is fed up with the ISI’s double-game with the Taliban. The White House has a lot on its foreign policy plate right now, but one eye needs to be kept on India-Pakistan to make sure Pakistan’s rift with the U.S. doesn’t undermine regional stability.