Pakistan’s Strategy of Full Spectrum Deterrence
Dr. Sannia Abdullah and Brigadier General Feroz Hassan Khan (Retd)

May 20, 2016

South Asia's strategic stability became more complex when Pakistan tested its tactical nuclear weapon on April 19, 2011 and declared the strategy of Full Spectrum Deterrence in line with the dictates of Credible Minimum Deterrence. Recently, Pakistan also tested Shaheen III missile system, thus reinforcing its policy of full spectrum. The term 'Full Spectrum Deterrence' is vague to clearly determine the pursuits of Pakistan’s emerging force posture and its policy narratives.

Dr. Sannia Abdullah is an expert on Pakistani and Indian foreign and defense policies and teaches graduate courses at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan, where she received her Ph.D. in 2015. She has published on a variety of strategic issues, most recently on the "Iran Nuclear Deal: Implications for Regional Security," in the Journal of Political Studies (Winter 2015). This spring, she is a Visiting Research Scholar at the Cooperative Monitoring Center at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. She also held a Nonproliferation Fellowship at Monterey Institute of International Studies in 2013 and has spoken at several think tanks and policy research institutes in the United States. Dr. Abdullah was also a media personality, having been the live anchor in both radio and television news programs from time to time since 2009.

For 33 years, Feroz Khan served with the Pakistani Army. He was in combat and commanded forces on the Siachen Glacier, Kashmir and the Pakistan–Afghanistan border. His last assignment was Director, Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs, within the Strategic Plans Division. Among his academic degrees, Brig. Khan holds an M.A. from the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of Eating Grass, the widely acclaimed history of Pakistan's nuclear program.