ISLAMABAD -- Despite a push by the international community, there's little prospect that India and Pakistan will sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Both countries continue to defy a range of overt and covert pressures on the issue. The fact that the CTBT may eventually not come into force unless it is approved by important nuclear powers, especially the United States, further throws into question this treaty's ability to prevent proliferation.
Just before the second anniversary of Pakistan's nuclear tests, military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf remarked that Pakistan should not be prevented from carrying out further nuclear tests if India conducts additional tests. This suggests that little progress has been made on the issue of nonproliferation in the region since 1998, when India's nuclear tests prompted Pakistan to respond in kind.