London: Pakistan has almost reached parity with India on nuclear weapons with both the nations having 110 warheads each, an International think-tank SIPRI has said, warning that Islamabad is in danger of “losing control of part of its nuclear arsenal” to terrorists.
Charging that India and Pakistan were “expanding their capacity to produce fissile material for military purposes, the report said that while India could have 80-110 nuclear warheads today, up from 60-80 last year, Pakistan may have increased its count from 70-90 to 90-110.
Labelling Pakistan’s nuclear programme as almost the fastest in the world, SIPRI said that both Islamabad and New Delhi continue to develop new ballistic and cruise missile systems capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
“They are also expanding their capacities to produce fissile material for military purposes,” the report said and claimed that Islamabad was now turning to producing lighter precision warheads for use in restricted spaces.
Releasing the report in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, Daniel Nord, Director of SIPRI said Pakistan may be close to danger of “losing control of part of its nuclear arsenal” to terrorist and said it was a matter of grave concern.
Nord said South Asia, where relations between India and Pakistan seem perpetually tense, is “the only place in the world where you have the nuclear arms race.”
The Swedish institute said that more than 5,000 nuclear weapons were deployed around the world and eight nuclear power continue investing in new weapon system, making disarmament in the future unlikely.
