ABSTRACT
India's and Pakistan's nuclear testing of May 1998 introduced the possibility that they could enter a nuclear arms race, or even in a crisis draw on their unperfected capabilities to strike with a nuclear weapon. Both countries might militarize, and then deploy, nuclear weapons, until like the N5 and N6 their weapons were "deployed and ready." Unfortunately, neither Pakistan nor India provides the world with information on the status of nuclear weapon development, weaponization, or anticipated deployment. Accounts attribute to both countries "nuclear-capable" missiles and aircraft, but the actual mating of delivery systems and nuclear warheads or bombs by Pakistan or India has not been observed. Since May 1998 both Pakistan and India appear to be adopting a stance on denuclearization—if it is mentioned at all—akin to that of the other nuclear states, pushing any actual measures further into the future.
