ABSTRACT
On 14-15 August 1998 the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Independence in India and Pakistan were concluded. Valedictory ceremonies were organized with fanfare in the capitals Islamabad and Delhi. In Islamabad Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared that, while ‘14 August will be remembered as independence day for Pakistan, 28 May will be remembered as the day when the security of the country is guaranteed forever’. In his address to the nation he justified Pakistan’s nuclear explosions of 28 May 1998 as essential for the nation’s survival and well being. ‘We have that power which only six other nations in the world have’, Sharif declared. ‘This strength has given us protection and confidence’, he claimed.1
