Strategic Ambiguities in Indian Nuclear Doctrine Implications for Pakistan's Security

Abstract

Sequel to overt nuclearization in 1998, India announced its Draft Nuclear Doctrine on 17 August 1999 which was reviewed and updated by the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security in January, 2003. This paper will critically examine the broad contours of India's nuclear doctrine and trace the consequences on the security calculus of Pakistan. It reveals that Indian Nuclear Doctrine suffers from strategic ambiguities. These ambiguities, whether deliberate or a result of sketchy manifestation, detriments Pakistan's security calculus in complex ways.