Abstract
It is anticipated that the states possessing nuclear weapons rarely involve in conflicts but the South Asian nuclear environment explicates a diverse notion. Both India and Pakistan are traditional rivals since their inception and nuclear factor has shaped a highly volatile environment for sustaining strategic stability in the region. The two states may have been compelled to constrain their conflicts due to their emerging deterrence capabilities except a limited conflict during Kargil crisis in 1999. Pakistan’s posture of Minimum Credible Deterrence (MCD) provided nuclear umbrella during crises and the existing nuclear calculus of the two states derives leverage for establishing regional strategic stability. But the disparity between India and Pakistan due to their growing nuclear force postures with missile developments and their contradicting nuclear strategies have made Pakistan’s strategic stability critical for its foreseeable future.