ABSTRACT
Each South Asian state became a recipient of substantial military transfers, but in matters of foreign policy and no less so in national security areas, both New Delhi and Islamabad responded to their own perceptions of national need. General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq entered into substantial defense agreements with Ronald Reagan that reaffirmed American commitment in support of Pakistan's national security. The physical breakup of Pakistan left a rump Pakistan in the western region of the subcontinent and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was called upon to "pick up the pieces" of a demoralized nation and bankrupt government. From New Delhi's vantage point Pakistani links with Central Asian Muslims were threatening. India had lost its most important patron in the collapse of the Soviet Union, and in the zero-sum rivalries of the subcontinent its principal nemesis stood to gain what it had lost.
