Contents: Introduction. 1. Perspectives on nuclear weapons in South Asian Security. 2. Nuclear capabilities. 3. Delivery systems – missiles and aircraft. 4. The nuclear battlefield – India Vs. Pakistan. 5. Nuclear attacks on civilian targets – South Asian Armageddon. 6. Kargil and the deterrence of operational parity. Conclusion. Appendix: MSNBC on nuclear weapons – separating the wheat from the chaff. Bibliography. Index.

"On 11 May 1998, India shed its veil of secrecy and declared itself a nuclear weapons state.

"Pakistan followed a fortnight later and the security environment of South Asia was changed.

"Or was it?

"Few know how vast India’s nuclear infrastructure actually is and how far the country had come to becoming a nuclear weapons state prior to the May tests. The same applies for Pakistan.

"This book details the nuclear weapons capabilities of India and Pakistan prior and subsequent to the Pokharan and Chagai tests of 1998. It also deals with the delivery systems available to both sides and with possible command structures for the emerging nuclear arsenals.

"One question, however, has not been answered previously—how are nuclear weapons likely to be used in any India-Pakistan conflict?

"Will there be widespread use of tactical nuclear weapons against battlefield targets or will nuclear weapons unleash their devastation against the crowded metropolises of South Asia?

"This work deals with these issues and the place nuclear weapons occupy in the security policies of India and its arch rival." (jacket)