Pakistan has been forced to take the drastic step of going nuclear for its security, reports

Bashir maan, who also outlines the part played by the United States in the decision

India 5, Pakistan 6 . . . or maybe even 7, Pakistan is definitely one up, so there! National pride has been restored, honour has been preserved. The taunts of Benazir Bhutto, the opposition leader, and the catharsis experienced by the nation after the Indian nuclear tests, had finally ''shamed'' Nawaz Sharif into biting the bullet and joining the nuclear club.

Pakistan's nuclear blasts have not come as a surprise in the wake of India's tests a fortnight ago. It is tragic, though, that two under-developed poor countries are squandering their meagre resources on the ''luxury'' of nuclear capacity. Poverty, deprivation, and illiteracy are rampant for the majority of both countries. Disease, unemployment, and starvation are commonplace. A far more productive and positive use of the huge funds involved would have been for the welfare of the poor masses in the two countries. But such a sensible course would not have won many votes for either of the governments.

In India, the Hindu fundamentalist BJP has assumed power for the first time and is ruling the country only with the support of a number of smaller parties. It desperately needed to enhance its image and increase it support to remain in power and to win the next election. This was only going to be possible by doing something that previous governments had not dared to do and would please the emotionally exploitable uneducated majority of the country.

India first tested a nuclear device as early as 1974, and started the nuclear arms race between the two hostile neighbours. Pakistan restrained from testing any devices until last week and most probably would not have embarked upon this dangerous and very costly path if India had not gone ahead with recent tests. Once India had gone down that road, Pakistan had no choice but to follow. There was no other way for the government to calm a highly charged situation in Pakistan.

The situation was further aggravated for Pakistan by what some

international commentators have described as bellicose statements made immediately after the Indian blasts by Advani, the Hindu fundamentalist home minister in the Indian government. Responsibility for the administration of the disputed territories of Jammu and Kashmir has just been transferred from the Prime Minister's officer to the Home Ministry. Advani celebrated his new role in a highly volatile situation where thousands have lost their lives, not by moderation but by jingoistic statements about his intentions to follow a proactive approach in Kashmir and introducing hardline policies against Muslin ''insurgents''. Such statements are not only disturbing and destabilising, but also provocative. The Kashmir dispute, the major point of disagreement between India and Pakistan, has been festering for the past 50 years. Despite a number of United Nations resolutions stipulating that a plebiscite

be held in Kashmir and the people of the state be allowed to determine their future, none of the super powers has dared to challenge the defiance of India.

No Pakistani government could have withstood the immense wave of pressure that had developed after the Indian blasts within the public, the opposition, and all the political parties in the country. The Prime Minister would have been forced to resign if he had not authorised the testing of Pakistan's nuclear arms capacity in response to the challenge from India. The pleas of Western powers for restraint fell on deaf ears because Pakistan, like many other nations, is well aware of their double standards.

For instance, despite the ''special friendship'' with Pakistan which the US claims in the region, Pakistan has been let down many times in the past by its Western allies especially in the US. Under a defence treaty, the US was obliged to come to the aid

|of Pakistan in 1971 when East Pakistan was invaded by India.

The Americans not only reneged on their commitment but also encouraged the East Pakistanis to secede and gave a tacit approval to Indian invasion of Pakistani territory. During the Afghan resistance to the Soviet Union's occupation, the Americans again became great friends to Pakistan in order to defeat Russia. However, when that task was accomplished with every assistance and unstinting co-operation from Pakistan, the Americans again became very cold towards Pakistan.

They stopped all military and humanitarian aid in 1990 to punish Pakistan for continuing its nuclear programme. Pakistan had bought a number of F16 aeroplanes from America. The price, hundreds of millions of dollars, was paid by Pakistan but the American government stopped the delivery of the planes. This dispute has now been dragging on for more than 10 years and Pakistan is neither being given the planes nor the money back. So how can Pakistan trust Americans anymore?

During the past week, the US did put considerable pressure on Pakistan and offered some incentives to prevent them from conducting these tests. The Pakistan government could have been restrained had cast-iron guarantees been forthcoming for unrestrained assistance against Indian aggression. The Americans, surprisingly, declined to offer such a guarantee. The G8 summit had already disappointed Pakistan by failing to take any serious action against India. This could well have been a green light to Pakistan indicating that if it followed suit there would be little to lose.

Thus Pakistan has been forced to take the drastic step of going nuclear for its security. There have already been three wars in the past 50 years between India and Pakistan. With the present Hindu fundamentalist government in power in India, armed with nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, Pakistan was in no position to ignore the obvious danger. India has an aggressive record. It occupied Hyderabad by force in 1948. It occupied Junagardh - a small state that had acceded to Pakistan. It invaded and occupied Jammu and Kashmir state and has held it against the wishes of its people, defying the resolutions of the United Nations. It also occupied Sikkim, a tiny Himalayan kingdom not long ago. A weak neighbour is not safe from the might of powerful India. And Pakistan is determined not to be another victim.

The sanctions will certainly have their effect both in India and Pakistan. However, only the poor will suffer on both sides. The policy-makers, the politicians, and the elite, will not suffer. It is the poor people who are suffering there. It is the poor who are starving and it is they who are dying through lack of medicine. Sanctions have not brought down Saddam Hussain. Indeed, they have enhanced his image and strengthened the hold he has on the country.

The same will happen on the sub-continent. Sanctions are not going to produce any different effect for AB Vajpayee or Nawaz Sharif. As in Iraq, the misinformed and emotionally exploited masses on both sides are going to admire them more for their ''daring''. So the governments will certainly become more popular but the two countries and their people will be poorer and more insecure as a result of this senseless nuclear race.