When any two states with nuclear weapons engage in armed hostilities, a possible escalation to an exchange using nuclear weapons can never be ruled out. Therefore, in the India-Pakistan context, any conventional war will inevitably carry the seeds of a nuclear exchange.
Given their geographical proximity, no distinction is possible, indeed plausible, between their use of shorter-range theatre nuclear weapons and longer-range strategic weapons. Even a theatre nuclear weapon would result in massive destruction. What distinguishes a theatre weapon from a strategic one is the command-and-control mechanism applicable to the use of the weapon rather than its yield. If
