BTTN hosts webinar on Youm-e-Takbeer to commemorate Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests

The Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN) on Thursday hosted a webinar on Youm-e-Takbeer to commemorate Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests and examine the country’s pursuit of Credible Minimum Deterrence alongside the peaceful application of nuclear technology for national development

QUETTA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2026) The Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN) on Thursday hosted a webinar on Youm-e-Takbeer to commemorate Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests and examine the country’s pursuit of Credible Minimum Deterrence alongside the peaceful application of nuclear technology for national development.

The session, moderated by Ms. Pairman Bazai, was convened under the theme “Youm-e-Takbeer: Pakistan’s Pursuit of Credible Minimum Deterrence and Sustainable Development.”

Prof. Dr. Rizwana Abbasi, Professor of IR at NUML, underscored that Pakistan did not initiate the nuclearization of South Asia but responded to India’s 1998 tests. She emphasized that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were instruments of deterrence, not war fighting, calibrated to establish mutual vulnerability without seeking numerical parity with India. Dr. Rizwana noted that India’s Cold Start and limited war doctrines had been effectively countered by Pakistan’s Full Spectrum Deterrence posture, which remained central to upholding strategic stability in the region.

Dr. Ansar Parvez, former Chairman of PAEC and Nuclear Power Advisor to the NCA, traced Pakistan’s nuclear journey from its founding membership in the IAEA in 1957 to its present contributions to the international nuclear community. He detailed how nuclear applications are advancing cancer treatment, crop development, food preservation, and electricity generation, while holding significant promise for addressing future challenges, including climate change, water scarcity, and rising energy demand, provided development proceeds with rigorous safety and regulatory standards.

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Brig. (Retd) Dr. Zahir Kazmi, Arms Control Advisor at the SPD, drew on the events of May 2025 to warn that assumptions of escalation control below the nuclear threshold are dangerously fragile in a compressed strategic environment. He cautioned that doctrinal adventurism carried unacceptable risks in a nuclearized dyad where geography severely limited decision-making time. Dr. Kazmi further argued that enduring disputes particularly those over Jammu and Kashmir and the Indus Waters system, must ultimately be resolved through just and peaceful means, as strategic stability could not be sustained indefinitely around them.

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Zafar Khan, Executive Director BTTN, reaffirmed the continuing relevance of Pakistan’s deterrence doctrines amid rising conventional force modernization and evolving regional challenges. He emphasized that Pakistan’s nuclear posture remained strictly deterrence-oriented and that the civilian nuclear programme, contributing to health, agriculture, energy and research was equally central to the nation’s future.