India, Pakistan and the history of the nuclear button

What is the nuclear button and briefcase, and how relevant are they in the case of India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam attacks?

Transcript

00:00As the Pahlgaon terror attack triggered an alarming diplomatic standoff between India and Pakistan,

00:23the N-word was emerging as the silent elephant in the room.

00:26Exactly six years ago, in April of 2019, Prime Minister Modi called out Pakistan's nuclear bluffs.

00:34He also added that he had personally visited Pakistan and checked their nuke power.

00:41But is the nuclear button just a threat or something more?

00:44In the United States, a single person is authorized to make the decision to use the nuclear weapon,

00:49the President.

00:51This power is absolute and no federal department can prevent its use once the presidential

00:55order is given.

00:56In most other nuclear powers, there exists a sophisticated command and control mechanism

01:00for the use of the button, with a nuclear briefcase kept near the leader of the state at all times

01:05in many countries.

01:07India and Pakistan have both established councils to authorize the use of nuclear weapons.

01:12In Pakistan, orders to launch require consensus among the NCA or National Command Authority

01:17members, which was designed to imitate a board of directors.

01:20The NCA was created under General Parvez Musharraf's military government to institutionalize command

01:26and control over Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

01:29As of 2024, Pakistan is believed to have won 70 nuclear warheads, which include land-based

01:34missiles, air-launched weapons and sea-based systems.

01:37Also, unlike India, Pakistan has not adopted the no-first-use or NFU policy to keep its options

01:43open.

01:44Meanwhile, India's nuclear strategy is based on the Credible Minimum Deterrence Principle,

01:48with an aim to cause minimal deterrence as opposed to mutually assured destruction.

01:53By January of 2024, India had increased its nuclear warheads from 164 to 172, whereas Pakistan's

02:00count has remained unchanged at 170.

02:03But it takes a lot more than a button to launch a nuclear war.

02:06The nuclear gear needs to be fueled for starters, a process that can take hours.

02:10So is the nuclear button just a scary catchphrase?

02:13Well, the phrase can be traced back to World War II, when panic buttons were used by bombers

02:18to signal damage.

02:19Pakistan's nuclear weapon development was in response to the loss of the 1971 Bangladesh

02:24Liberation War, under the then PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and is one of the 9 states in the

02:29world that possess nuclear weapons.

02:32Keeping a nuclear weapon isn't cheap, and it's noteworthy that even amidst an economic

02:36and food crisis, Pakistan is increasing its nuclear arsenal despite exorbitant fuel costs

02:42and outages.

02:43In fact, if current trends continue, it could reach 200-plus warheads in the coming years.

02:47What are your thoughts on nuclear politics?

02:49Let us know in the comments below.