The world was shaken last May when India and then Pakistan conducted underground nuclear tests. Citizens of the two countries danced in the streets as the two governments declared themselves members of the nuclear club. Reaction elsewhere was just as heartfelt, but for entirely different reasons. The prospect of an end to the nuclear taboo, worries about a nuclear exchange in South Asia and fears that proliferation might spread dismayed most of the rest of the world.
Those concerns remain unfounded, but it would be foolhardy to pretend that they will go away. India and Pakistan need to join the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the international norm that opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons needs to be strengthened and more efforts need to be made to diminish tensions on the Indian subcontinent.
Fortunately, the United States has taken the initiative in trying to get India and Pakistan to rejoin the international consensus on these issues. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott last week wound up the eighth round of talks in as many months with the two governments. According to press reports, India will sign the CTBT by mid-1999. In addition, Mr. Talbott is reported to have won a similar commitment from Pakistan. If true, the U.S., and Mr. Talbott in particular, deserve applause for taking the lead in trying to resolve this critical issue.