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Pakistan Warns of Nuclear Reassessment Amid India's Military Expansion
- •Pakistan has warned that it may reconsider its nuclear deployment options in response to India's advancing missile and submarine capabilities.
- •Retired Lieutenant General Khalid Kidwai stated that Islamabad would not accept any strategic imbalance in South Asia.
- •Pakistani officials highlighted reports of India deploying nuclear warheads aboard submarines and advancing missile systems like MIRVs.
- •The warnings also follow concerns stemming from the May 2025 military conflict, which officials noted was more lethal and involved advanced warfare systems.
- •Geopolitical experts caution that threatening additional deployments could intensify regional arms competition rather than prevent instability.
Key Questions Answered
Pakistan warned it could reconsider its nuclear deployment options in response to India's expanding missile and submarine capabilities, as well as its increasingly advanced nuclear posture. Officials in Islamabad expressed concern over losing strategic parity with New Delhi following reports of India deploying nuclear warheads on submarines.
The May 2025 conflict demonstrated how quickly conventional military engagements between India and Pakistan can intensify into more lethal engagements involving drones, BrahMos missiles, and electronic warfare. Pakistani officials warned that this growing sophistication, paired with a lack of bilateral arms control mechanisms, increases the risk of miscalculation.
Pakistani officials pointed to reports that India had deployed around 12 nuclear warheads aboard a submarine for deterrence patrols. They also highlighted India's missile canisterisation, multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle capabilities, ballistic missile defence programmes, and the Cold Start doctrine.
