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Pakistan developing non-strategic nuclear weapons

Agencies

Posted: Sep 25, 2012 at 1117 hrs IST
Pakistan will join the ranks of countries like the US and Russia, a leading American think-tank has said.

Washington To enhance its nuclear capability, Pakistan is developing non-strategic nuclear weapons, and thus joining the ranks of countries like the US and Russia, a leading American think-tank has said.

India, however, not listed among five of the nine-nuclear weapons powered countries that has or is developing non-strategic nuclear weapons said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project, and Dr Robert S Norris, senior fellow for Nuclear Policy, in a new edition of Nuclear Notebook.

"Today, at least five of the world's nine nuclear weapons states have, or are developing, what appears to meet the definition of a nonstrategic nuclear weapon: Russia, the United States, France, Pakistan, and China," they concluded in the latest issue of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Like France, Pakistan characterizes all its nuclear weapons as strategic.

"However, Pakistan is developing a new short-range rocket with nuclear capability that certainly would be characterized as a nonstrategic nuclear weapon if it belonged to Russia or the United States. Moreover, even the Pakistani statements about the weapon clearly place it in a different category," Kristensen and Norris wrote.

In their report, the two American nuclear scientist wrote that the new weapon, the Nasr, is a 60-kilometer ballistic missile launched from a mobile twin-canister launcher.

Following its first test launch in April 2011, the Pakistani military news organization, Inter Services Public Relations, described the Nasr as carrying a nuclear warhead "of appropriate yield with high accuracy," with "shoot and scoot attributes" that was developed as a "quick response system" to "add deterrence value" to Pakistan's strategic weapons development program "at shorter ranges" in order "to deter evolving threats."

"This language, which has been repeated after subsequent Nasr tests, strongly indicates a weapon with a new mission that resembles nonstrategic nuclear weapons," they wrote.

According to the report, rumors of Chinese nonstrategic nuclear weapons have been around for a long time, but there is little reliable public information about their current status.

China conducted a nuclear test in the 1960s with a nuclear bomb delivered from a fighter-bomber. It is possible, but unknown, that a few fighter-bomber squadrons may have a secondary nuclear capability today, they said.

"Likewise, the US intelligence community at various periods has assessed that a nuclear capability may have been developed for short-range ballistic missiles such as the DF-15. Moreover, the US intelligence community describes the DH-10 ground-launched cruise missile "conventional or nuclear," a designation also used for the Russian dual-capable AS-4 cruise missile," the report said.

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Don't our Govt and the Extreme Supermo of our country SONIA ever feel sashamed??? by umesh on 25 Sep 2012

How would they be? They are ony interested in making scams and earning money as much s possible during their life time for their impotant generation, who will never be adorned by the indian public. On the other hand, the countries sorrounding India, is fast developing weapons to protect their countrya and hence their population. Hee in our country, our impotant (ever seen) PM the slve of Sonia Gandhi is making his career best efforts to make our country the biggest sacam based heven on earth is never bothered to protect our country, other than the scammers. He is a blame to the community he was unfortuately born in. His highness Bhagat Singh and team will ever never forgive this impotant PM who is the most tatooooo the universe has ever seen. Wake up India, throw this impotant govt and the allies from power and give chance to Kejriwal and team, we need an alternative any ways....

Don't our Govt and the Extreme Supermo of our country SONIA ever feel sashamed??? by umesh on 25 Sep 2012

How would they be? They are ony interested in making scams and earning money as much s possible during their life time for their impotant generation, who will never be adorned by the indian public. On the other hand, the countries sorrounding India, is fast developing weapons to protect their countrya and hence their population. Hee in our country, our impotant (ever seen) PM the slve of Sonia Gandhi is making his career best efforts to make our country the biggest sacam based heven on earth is never bothered to protect our country, other than the scammers. He is a blame to the community he was unfortuately born in. His highness Bhagat Singh and team will ever never forgive this impotant PM who is the most tatooooo the universe has ever seen. Wake up India, throw this impotant govt and the allies from power and give chance to Kejriwal and team, we need an alternative any ways....

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