Pakistan’s nuclear thinking, its ambiguous doctrine, and posture-revolving around the much-acclaimed fill spectrum deterrence, remains critical for Indian policymakers and the international security community. The Pakistani security rationale is indeed one of the crucial dimensions of Pakistan’s complex dynamics. In this context, the narrative of Pakistan’s threat perceptions becomes an integral part of its strategic posturing for both the outside world and domestically, to justify its inclination (and excessive diversion of national resources) towards defence and nuclear build-up. With all the existing domestic, economic, and security challenges, which are detrimental to nation’s growth, the stable factor has been Pakistan’s military and nuclear build-up. Past experience suggests its acquisition of nuclear weapons and expansion of the arsenal will continue to be rationalised as an ultimate guarantee of security, deterrent to Indian conventional military superiority, to perceived threat perceptions vis-à-vis India, and to provide an umbrella to pursue a proxy war through terrorism. In this context, it is important to undertake a study on Pakistan’s security dimensions and its nuclear positioning to allow India to evaluate its options against Pakistan. Contents: Foreword List of Tables and Figures Editors and Contributors 1. Introduction Shalini Chawla and Rajiv Nayan Section 1: PAKISTAN’S SECURITY DYNAMICS 2. Pakistan’s Lethal Combine: Nuclear Weapons, Military Adventurism and Religious Extremism Syed Ata Husnain 3. CPEC and Challenges for Pakistan JayadevaRanade 4. Balochistan’s Socio-Economic Marginalisation: The Security Implications TilakDevasher 5. Pakistan’s Economic Crisis: Lessons Unlearned Riya Sinha 6. Indus Waters Treaty: Assessing Dimensions Uttam Kumar Sinha 7. Pakistan’s Afghanistan Dilemma Shakti Sinha Section 2: THE ARMED FORCES 8. The Pakistan Army D.S. Hooda 9. Pakistan Air Force Amit Aneja 10. Pakistan Navy: Nuclear Ambitions and Arabian Sea Security Dynamics Vijay Sakhuja Section 3: THE NUCLEAR DIMENSIONS 11. Pakistan’s Nuclear Grand Strategy Rajiv Nayan 12. Pakistan’s Full Spectrum Deterrence: Efforts to Expand Options Shalini Chawla 13. Ballistic and Cruise Missiles of Pakistan RajaramNagappa 14. Pakistan’s TNWs: The Signal and How it Should be Received ManpreetSethi 15. The Curious Case of Pakistan’s Nuclear Proliferation Arjun Anandand AarushiVikram 16. Conclusion Shalini Chawla and Rajiv Nayan Index About the Editors: Dr Shalini Chawla is Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), New Delhi. She joined CAPS in 2006 and has published more than 100 research articles/chapters in national and international journals/books on a wide range of issues relating to Pakistan and Afghanistan. She has authored/co-edited five books and lectures regularly at various universities, think-tanks and leading institutions of the Indian Armed Forces and Foreign Services. She is actively engaged in India’s Track 1.5 initiatives. She received a Commendation and Badge by the Chief of Air Staff in October 2020 for displaying great dedication, professional ability and praiseworthy contribution to the service. Dr Rajiv Nayan is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. Rajiv was a Visiting Research Fellow at Japan Institute of International Affairs, Tokyo, where he published his monograph Non-Proliferation Issues in South Asia. He was also Senior Researcher at Peace Research Institute Oslo, a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Visiting Fulbright Scholar at the Center on International Cooperation, New York University. He holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Philosophy in Disarmament Studies and a Master of Arts in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In his doctoral dissertation, he studied implications of the Missile Technology Control Regime for Indian security and economy.