Was Pakistan's decision to build nuclear weapons justified by the events of 2025?

[BouncerGuy]

The 2025 India-Pakistan crisis, triggered by the Pahalgam attack and escalating into missile strikes (Operation Sindoor) and retaliatory operations (Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos), has reignited debates over Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program.

Nuclear Deterrence in Action:​

Pakistan's full-spectrum deterrence doctrine, including tactical nukes like the Nasr missile, was developed to counter India's conventional superiority and Cold Start strategy.

During the May 2025 conflict, both sides exchanged missile strikes but refrained from an all-out war, suggesting that nuclear threats imposed restraint.

However, the crisis exposed doctrinal instability, as India shifted away from its No First Use (NFU) policy, escalating risks of miscalculation.

Youm-e-Takbir & Pakistan’s Nuclear Legacy:​

Youm-e-Takbir (May 28) commemorates Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests, conducted in direct response to India's nuclear tests earlier that month. The 2025 crisis reinforced the belief among Pakistani strategists that nuclear weapons remain essential for national security.

Yet, critics argue that nuclearization has failed to resolve Kashmir, as both nations continue to engage in proxy wars and limited conflicts under the nuclear umbrella.

Conclusion​

While Pakistan’s nukes may have deterred a larger war, the 2025 crisis shows that deterrence alone cannot ensure lasting peace. The risk of escalation remains, especially as both nations modernize their arsenals and adopt more aggressive postures.

Please vote in the poll and share your views on this.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Pakistanis are free to construct their own narratives, but the tendency to resort to shameless nuclear threats after just a few days of conventional conflict is deeply concerning. It reflects a profound sense of insecurity and irresponsibility on your part as a nation and a clear lack of confidence in your conventional capabilities. It begs the question if you as a nation cannot sustain conventional wars for even 2-3 days and have to embarrassingly resort to nuclear threats putting lives of millions of people in a danger, why even go for such misadventures and why not rather commit to strengthening peace in the region instead.

As an Indian however, I feel a sense of gratitude for Pakistan’s laughably erratic behavior. Why? Because despite India’s remarkable growth and global rise, we have at times shown a tendency to grow complacent especially in the face of subtle and long-term challenges like China. Our military build-up began with Pakistan in mind but evolved to address the much larger strategic threat posed by China. Ironically, it is Pakistan’s repeated misadventures that have kept us alert and accelerated the strengthening of our defense preparedness timely and essential steps for the larger geopolitical contest that awaits us. Had Pakistan been a peaceful and cooperative neighbor, there’s a real chance we might have drifted into a false sense of permanent peace only to be rudely awakened by Chinese aggression in the future.

In that sense, Pakistan serves as a sort of inoculation, a low-grade but persistent threat that boosts our strategic immunity, ensuring that we are not caught off guard when it truly matters.