Author: Tara Shankar Sahay
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: May 30, 2002
A leading Indian nuclear expert
on Thursday ridiculed Pakistan's assertion that his country would use nuclear
weapons against India even in case of a conventional conflict.
Munir Akram, Pakistan's newly appointed
ambassador to the United Nations, had surprised diplomats on Wednesday
by stating that "India should not have the license to kill with conventional
weapons while Pakistan's hands are tied regarding other means to defend
itself".
"The Pakistani nuclear trigger is
in the hands of US forces, which are present in their base at Jacobabad.
Islamabad fully knows our nuclear deterrence capability. Pakistani assertions
regarding resorting to a nuclear strike against India does not impress
us," Dr R R Subramaniam of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses
said. He said Indian missiles like Prithvi and Agni were "ready".
"They know that while a nuclear
strike by them against India could cause havoc, our country will survive
despite the terrible costs. But if we were to retaliate, which would be
several-fold more, Pakistan stands to be wiped out," Dr Subramaniam said.
When asked if he was sensationalising the issue, he said, "These are plain
facts known to the world community." "They should desist from belligerent
postures because the result of an Indo-Pak nuclear conflict, which they
are harping about, is written on the international wall and all too obvious,"
he said.
Asked what steps India was taking
in the wake of Pakistani belligerence, he said: "There is no question of
being caught napping."
Dr Subramaniam criticised US nuclear
expert David Albright for saying that a nuclear conflict between India
and Pakistan would result in 12 million deaths.
"His estimate about the uranium
production in Pakistani is exaggerated and his assessment about lives being
lost in the subcontinent [in case of a nuclear conflagration] is wide of
the mark," he said.
Another expert, who did not wish
to be identified, said Pakistan should not forget that after the Pokharan
blasts, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said that in case of necessity,
India would review its avowed no-first use principle.
The country's nuclear establishment
had "set in motion all measures necessary to respond to any external aggression",
he said.