Pakistan's Missile Program: Strategic Evolution, Regional Dynamics, and Global Repercussions in the Shadow of U.S. Sanctions

Abstract

The critical examination of this research article focuses on the development of the Pakistani missile program in the wider context of the regional deterrence, strategic autonomy and global politics of non-proliferation. With its historical background of military limitations imposed after 1Sc5 war to the induction of long range ballistic and cruise missile systems, the thesis explores the operational logic and doctrinal drivers that inform the missile posture of Pakistan. This text highlights the fact that the missile development in Islamabad, especially the test and induction of Shaheen-III and Ababeel missiles with MIRV warheads, is part of the change toward full-spectrum deterrence designed to overcome Indian conventional advantages and new ballistic missile defense shields. The paper goes further to criticize the U.S. sanctions imposition arguing that the punitive measures are less based on sincere non-proliferation considerations, and more to do with strategic insecurity caused by faltering regional hegemony. The use of diverse materials, namely official comments, strategic estimates, and the current policy rhetoric, helps the research community to gainsight how American non-proliferation enforcement is used selectively, which undermines its own credibility and contributes to strategic mistrust in South Asia. By means of detailed literature analysis, and historical division, the paper introduces the missile program in Pakistan as a logical security mechanism and geopolitical disputed question, influenced by the asymmetries of the global governance. It concludes with the demand of a new, balanced and non-discriminatory international order to solve the regional security dilemmas, to diminish the risks of proliferation and to achieve strategic stability in a multipolar world.