In a huge embarrassment for Pakistan, the country’s top nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy has said that Islamabad has used the nuclear umbrella to protect terror groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba.
In an interview to news agency IANS, the Karachi-based physicist said that government should not provide safe haven to anyone involved in killing of civilians.
“People like me have long argued that Pakistan has used the nuclear umbrella to protect groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba. This is an abominable fact. Under no circumstances should Pakistan shelter or aid those who kill and murder, whether the victims be Indians or Pakistanis,” he said.
Underlining India’s hard line on Kashmir, he said, “It could push us into even more difficult times.”
Pervez’s remark comes in the backdrop of Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif’s threat to unleash tactical nuclear weapons on India.
Pervez teaches physics and mathematics in Lahore. He was voted 85th in a list of 100 public intellectuals from around the globe by 'Foreign Policy' magazine in 2011.
When asked what steps should the governments take to de-escalate tension between the two neighbouring sides, “It is crucial to limit the rhetoric and desist from inflaming the situation on the LoC. Else, no one can predict where things might go.”
Noting that India has no tactical nuclear warheads, he said, “Tactical weapons generally have smaller yields and can be launched from trucks armed with multiple rocket barrels. These have ranges that do not exceed 100km. Strategic weapons can be aircraft or missile delivered to any place on the subcontinent.”
To a question that under what circumstances is Pakistan likely to deploy and use its tactical nuclear weapons, he replied, “Pakistan has always said that its tactical nuclear weapons exist to thwart a major Indian land invasion or sea blockade. However, I suppose that there must be planning for other contingencies as well.”
Pervez further said that both can inflict a huge amount of damage depending upon where they are used.
“If used against a military target, the warhead is called tactical. But when used against a population centre, dam or industrial site, it is called strategic,” he said.
He added that it is very likely that the use of a tactical nuclear weapon will escalate into full-blown nuclear war.
“The use of a nuclear weapon against any kind of target signals that a nuclear war has started. The chances are that if one is used, there will be a retaliatory strike. Escalation is very likely, to the point that war may end only when all weapons have been used up,” he said.
Pervez further underlined that nuclear weapons have allowed Pakistan to take an aggressive position against India.
“People need to understand that the use of a single nuclear weapon, even if small in size, is breaking a deep taboo. Once broken, all bets are off because anything can happen after that. While it is clear that nuclear weapons have prevented India from using its larger conventional might against Pakistan, they have allowed Pakistan to take a much more aggressive position against India.
“I had argued with the late K. Subrahmanyam (a strategic affairs analyst and an early shaper of Indian nuclear policy) on this point repeatedly 20 years ago, but he had dismissed the possibility of Pakistan achieving bomb status,” he said.
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