'Time ripe for India, Pak to negotiate new nuclear risk reduction measures'

New Delhi, Jan.31 (ANI): A South Asian expert has said that while tension continues to remain between India and Pakistan, time is ripe for both countries to negotiate new nuclear risk reduction measures before extremists push the two neighbours to war again.

Michael Krepon believes New Delhi and Islamabad must come together to reduce their threat surrounding the nuclear assets.

"Many paradoxes related to nuclear weapons is that when reductions in nuclear dangers are most needed, they can be hardest to implement," Krepon said.

While India has been demanding that Pakistan does more against the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistan maintains that it is doing all it can, including putting people on trial.

Krepon said the resumption of the stalled Indo-Pak bilateral talks largely depends on the outcome of the trial of the seven Mumbai attack accused.

"The outcome of this trial will help determine when official bilateral talks might resume. But it is already crystal clear that the most important nuclear risk reduction measure on the subcontinent would be more concerted efforts by the security apparatus in Pakistan to clamp down on extremist groups that use that country as a base," he said.

"Pakistan is now caught on the horns of a dilemma: the "assets" it supported to place pressure on India have now become liabilities," Krepon highlighted.

Krepon said Islamabad's tactics of using violence against neighbouring countries, especially against India in Jammu and Kashmir, has actually backfired as a result of which Pakistan today is mired in countless issues threatening its very existence.

"Using violence to draw international attention to the "nuclear flashpoint" of Kashmir initially served Pakistan's interests. But the more its security apparatus played with fire, the more Pakistan's domestic and economic fortunes declined," Krepon said.

"Some of Pakistan's previous jihadi assets have now turned against the state, which has already suffered over 5,000 casualties since 2007. Other "assets" remain quiescent, but allegiances can change quickly, and Pakistan's security apparatus may have difficulty taking on all comers," he added. (ANI)