The lesson one can draw from 25 years of nuclear South Asia is that nuclear weapons are guarantors of stability at the highest or strategic levels, but they are certainly not the panacea to the security challenges faced by a nation, especially at the sub-conventional level. The case of the India-Pakistan conflict validates this point

Political instability is a perennial phenomenon in Pakistan but the present one appears to be more damaging as it has occurred at a time when the country is also experiencing one of the worst economic crises in decades

Though India and Pakistan showed great restraint to prevent any escalation, the missile episode has raised eyebrows among those who consider South Asia to be a 'nuclear flashpoint'