What Pakistan’s Bomb Could Not Buy

............. the bomb party !

........... i don`t know much about the politics of the bomb and all that fancy high flautin stuff, but one thing i do know for sure : i was really getting a little worried when, for a whole week, pakistan did not come up with a tit to match india`s tat ........... i was having all kinds of scary nightmares about nukes falling on islambad and half-naked gandhian sadhus with upside down swastikas on their foreheads rampaging through the streets of rawalpindi impaling little babies on their pitchforks ......... i said to myself: `` here we go again - the crooks at the atomic energy commission have been up to their usual tricks - stealing all the money and cement and construction steel and spending it on building their palaces in bani galla instead of making the big firecracker !...... thieving ba%#*rds !`` .............. but then they came through !........for once, the pathetic pakis did something that made me proud .......... the sun came out from behind the clouds bringing joy to my heart and a song to my lips and i began planning the ``bomb party`` .........

............ and oh, what a party it was - a party to end all parties ! ... people are still talking about it : all the shrimp and sushi you coud eat, hamburgers, chicken tikka, samosas (those little crispy ones) and veggie burgers and pasta salad for my horrible hindoo friends ...... oh, yes! ...... i invited them too, and even though some of them were a little whiney and kept on insisting their`s was bigger than ours, they seemed to have a good time ............ every one had a good time ...........

Mr. Hoodhbhoy wrote:

{{Punjab celebrates the Bomb while Baluchistan protests it.}}

Baluchi nationalists do not speak for Baluchistan. Baluchistan rejected them in the 2002 elections.

Mr. Hoodhbhoy wrote:

{{Many gaming scenarios played in the US strategic war planning institutions indicate that there are well-rehearsed contingency plans if Pakistan’s political situation changes radically after General Musharraf’s departure, planned or otherwise}}

Didn`t the US create similar gaming scenarios for Iraq and Afghanistan as well?

For argument`s sake, lets assume that US strategic plans for Pakistan will be 100% accurate. Suppose (in the year 2012), the people are completely disillusioned with secular parties and military rule. The MMA emerges as a viable third option and promises social justice and equitable economic distribution.

Should Pakistanis refrain from this third option because of fear? Can any country allow foreigners to dictate its domestic politics?

Author, it is absolutely ludicrous to think that the 1998 events changed anything drastically - except in perception. The utterances of Pakistani leaders - like the utterances of most Pakistanis on this site (except for the very few sober ones) are - and have always been bluster and hot air and not much to read into! Both countries had already been developing nukes earlier and one of them had already tested before. During the 1990`s - as Pakistani Jihadi adventurism started in Kashmir - their hidden nukes were very much in the background and were already being used as a coercive device - with the threats being communicated to the Indians through third parties. What 1998 did was to remove the cover and force the Pakistanis to either put up or shut up - and also the world to start recognizing India for what it is - a nation representing one sixth the size of the world with a legitimate right to be accorded a status in proportion - at least as much as the Chinese dictatorship, and perhaps even more so on moral grounds due to the nature of the two governments. The US and Indian nuke deal was not done as a favor to India, it was considered in US national interests! The Pakistanis in 1998 chose to put up instead of shutting up and have been paying the requisite price - by choice! A nation`s growth, like that of the human body, must be uniform - otherwise it is not a healthy body! When one part of the body grows disproportionate to the rest, it does so at the expense of the rest - it sucks blood and nutrition from the rest - sometimes depriving vital organs of what is needed for life - and like cancer, it kills the body. Pakistanis chose their destiny in 1947 when they decided to become the small country that they are now. However, illusions of the grandeur responsible for the original mindset - which created the country to begin with - continued to exist - as they desired to match the Indians in arms race - the nukes were considered a magic wand that could make them equal and perhaps even superior! The search for the magic wand to make the rump equal to the whole still continues - the nuke was one such illusory wand - a leadership of the mythical ``ummah`` still remains! Some illusions last longer than others. Pakistanis can either choose to recognize the physical fact that they are a small country and start getting used to the subservient role of the past few years - or can make a clean break with the past - without pushing things under the carpet and hiding the ``jihadi option`` for possble later use. So far the trends do not indicate any genuine change of the heart or the mindset! In many ways, at this point in time, perhaps the benign dictator Musharraf is the only protection against a more comprehensive emasculation. The nuclear genie comes with a price tag - Pakistanis have mastered the difficult art of selling their children into the bonds of slavery for the love of the genie! Such protectors of the ummah!

The Paki brigade is in full-throated cry saying that if India did not test in 1998, Pakistan would not have tested and then India would have had the upper hand in any conventional war with Pakistan which India stupidly threw away by testing its nukes.

Do these idiots -- and I am specifically referring to Mullah32 here -- actually believe that Pakistan did not have a bomb before May 1998 and that the Pak Bomb was miraculously developed in 30 days with the help of Allah, Gibreel, djinns, etc., as soon as India tested its nukes? If that is the case, I would have to concede that the Pak missiles were also divinely guided by Allah Himself.

Mullah32 and aisha_sarwari need to accept blame that is due Pak for testing its nukes and getting sanctions slapped on it. Instead of whining, ``India made me do it.``

Grow up, for a change.

Hi all...
Some interacts here seem to believe paki nukes will stop india from going to war.
Well paki analysts openly admit that the last time india brought its army forward, it was for an all out war, nukes or no-nukes.

That is what prompted mushy to commit in the next summit in pakistan ``no more terrorism from paki soil``!! (all in black and white to boot).

Had a civilian govt done that, there would have been talk of coup!
Strange how paki interactors behave so shallowly and demonstrate selective amnesia.
Most belive their own spin on things..read that as ``islamic spin``.

Lastly hoodbhoy as usual ends up not the jehadis for Kargil but the BJP govt!!
Wa bhai wah..galti kisiki bhi ho..dant to india ko milnee hi chahiye.

I believe such articles ``loose credibility`` in the eyes of paki readers unless they have ``SOME MANDATORY`` india bashing in them.
(result of the poisoned curriculua may be?)

Jayen

Dr. Hoodbhoy writes <<< Moreover, the A.Q.Khan episode – in spite of Pakistan’s repeated assertions that the matter has now closed – is still very much on the minds of the US establishment and media. These reasons account for the US’s flat rejection of any kind of nuclear deal with Pakistan along the lines that it had proposed to India. >>>

The US is not rejecting a deal with Pakistan because of AQK. This is a preposterous assertion. AQK was no newly discovered ``jinn``. His network and what he was doing was clearly visible to the US long before this farce of exposure. Even Hollywood knew of it, there were some arrests in the 1980s of people in the US based upon it, movies were made on it, yet idiots in the admn want us to believe that this was a new success of the ``war on terror`` that agencies whose budgets exceed GDPs of whole countries combined, had no knowledge of him and the network. He certainly is not anyone the US is worried about, or considers of consequence in their dealings with Pakistan.

India is being wooed by the US admn for other reasons, having nothing to do with nuclear proliferation or lack thereof (about which the US is indifferent in that region, except for ulterior motives in the case of Iran). The doctor needs to grow up, gauge the world scene by reading between the lines so to speak, ignoring the official BS that the often selectively amnesic press puts out.

I would have written more, but today is a day of mourning for humanity, for Americans because tens of thousands of lives have been lost in vain following false slogans of freedom and democracy for the empire and its tyrannous elite, while for the rest of humanity it is also a day of mourning for millions that suffer as a result of US militarism, and the hundreds of thousands that have been butchered by them in recent history. I mourn with them, and hope that soon they will wake up and emancipate themselves. InshaAllah.

Sanjay,

India (and Pakistan or any other nation or that matter) will become truly independent nations only when they are very strong economically, with military, political and softer powers to match. However, having a nuke does provide some short term nuisance value. Iraq got knocked out but North Korea didn`t.

Morever look at the problem from Pakistan`s angle. It got sliced into two in 1971 at the hands of India. The Paki nuke means that the same scenario won`t be repeated anytime soon.

Regards

Re: # 17


``Should reducing of risk to Pakistani nation makes Pakistani establishment take bigger risks and more often, then the blame lies with decision makers.
People choose to do things, and must bear full responsibility for their actions. If I cut off my nose with my knife and choose to blame the knife for it, then my nose (or my brain) wasn`t doing me much good anyways. ``

Absolutely!

I rather have pak with a democratically elected govt in control of nukes rather than military dictators,simply because rarely do a nations people endorse war for petty causes.And since an elected person is answerable to the people he would be more circumspect when it comes to starting a war.

Re: # 10

``It has greatly, tremendously enhanced Pakistan`s stature within the Islamic world (and inside the general Islamist mind). ``
``It has been a source of tremendous national pride for many Pakistanis.``

This was what Mr.Hoodbhuoy was pointing out in his article.Presently ~45 countries inluding countries like zaire,Bangladesh,vietnam are capable of developing nukes if they choose to.So having nukes doesnt improve much the stature of the possesor country.If the islamic world thinks that it is a tremendous achivement, it reveals the anachronistic mindset of islamic world.Further any pride derived from possesing a bomb is to a large extent false pride.

Much of what the Professor says is true; however, politics is based on reciprocity not on a Miss Universe world peace concept.

India tested to ``vindicate`` Pakistan`s testing, Pakistan tested because it knows India tested to try and hegemonize the region through its economic plans. And frankly, there was no incentive not to follow India`s tests.

And frankly the conventional arms race that India is fueling is quiet unfortunate. There could have been an opportunity, but now it is lost. I`d like to see more people point out the discrepancy between the race to amass weapons and to talk peace in one breath.


-Aisha Sarwari

It`s an extremely sensible and detailed article by Hoodbhoy, yet once again.

#5 MAJUMDAR


If you accept the contention that a handful of nations/states ( which not coincidentally have inflicted the maximum amount suffering on other nations/cultures) can be trusted to have nukes and the rest should be content to accepting voluntary castration, India and Pakistan should sign the NPT and foreswear nukes.

I think two things are getting mixed up here. One is to sign the NPT without adequate testing of the Bomb and the other one is to sign the NPT after adequate testing of the Bomb. In the second case, you need not further test the Nuclear Device. Everybody knows that you have the technology and you have the bomb but you have decided not to develop or rather test it further.

What you are saying is the usual emotional part of the nuclear proliferators. Now what is the status of India as well as Pakistan after testing of the Bomb ? Are they now free?? Do they have guts now to say or do anything against the wishes of the US?? The answer is big NO. Rather, the Nuclear Arsenal of Pakistan is(said to be and likely so) in the firm hands of the US. India ,on the other hand, being severely arm-twisted to cap its Nuclear Program--Nuclear Deal notwithstanding. Regarding the Nuclear Deal, most likely, the americans are going to let it through only after some guarantee from India regading further testing.

All in all, the Nuclear Bombs are simply fake toys which both the neighbours show off to each other and remain in a delusion that they are nuclear powers--their toys dont have even a nuisance value for other countries. Pakistanis are contended that they are now safe from India without realising whether India had any ambition to attack them or not.

Overall, both the countries have made fool of themselves.

Prologic, that is absolutely true, but is that really because of the bomb? All that the bomb has done is that Pakistan`s ``immediate risks`` in a situation of conflict have been significantly redueced. The bomb has been a risk reducer. That is a plus in every way.

Should reducing of risk to Pakistani nation makes Pakistani establishment take bigger risks and more often, then the blame lies with decision makers.

The whole logic of the bomb or anything `making` people do things is silly. People choose to do things, and must bear full responsibility for their actions. If I cut off my nose with my knife and choose to blame the knife for it, then my nose (or my brain) wasn`t doing me much good anyways.

i think some people have been misunderstanding the prof.

what he is trying to say, i believe is that the general concensus that nuclear wapons are NOT a deterrant to further the arms race rather the opposite as shown by the pak-india example.

in this particular case, pakistan has no choice but to follow suit and feel the consequences but it really did not have a choice. hence that case is closed...now its irans turn to defend its land.

good one hoodboy......
well yesterday i saw the Muslim league leaders praise Nawaz for deciding to test the bomb.....and then i saw the PPP leaders praise bhutto for initiating the program......its all a political stunt for them juss like october 8 was ......
they needta make their presence felt......

Re: # 10



``Pakistan`s nuclear status has significantly reduced the probability of India escalating a loalized conflict into a full-fledged war.``

On the other hand it emboldened PA(which already does not have any civilian checks) to commit (mis)adventures like kargil.One of these adventures will one day result in an all out war and will cost pakistanis dearly.