ABSTRACT
Pakistan’s response to the transformation of the global nuclear order is characterised more by continuity than change. This is because nuclear weapons continue to have a crucial role in national security strategy for policymakers in Islamabad (primarily vis-à-vis its conventionally superior rival, India) and in shaping its national identity more broadly. During the last two decades, the Pakistani military has devoted more resources and efforts to modernising the nuclear arsenal, and has been working to increase the size, sophistication and precision of the weapons it deploys. This includes the development of tactical nuclear weapons that might be used on the battlefield and that can compensate for qualitatively inferior conventional military forces. The strategic partnership with China and the relationship with the United States will undoubtedly frame the perceptions of Pakistani policymakers in the Third Nuclear Age, but ultimately nuclear weapons remain the most important tool in combatting the security risks that Pakistan faces.
