The absence of an institutionalized Nuclear Confidence-Building Measures (NCBMs) regime between India and Pakistan is an obstacle to the effective management of crises between these two nuclear-armed neighbors. Instances like the 2019 Pulwama-Balakot crisis and the 2022 accidental BrahMos missile launch underscore the critical role that NCBMs could play in diffusing tensions and preventing future crises. Against this backdrop, the establishment of a robust institutionalized NCBMs regime becomes paramount to ensuring that mechanisms for communication, transparency, and restraint are firmly in place.

The institutionalization of NCBMs entails two key factors. First, it requires the establishment of dedicated agencies with adequate resources and mandates to facilitate communication and cooperation for building confidence and trust between hostile nuclear states. Second, these dedicated organizations would require standard operational principles and procedures, including protocols for communication and information-sharing. This is necessary to transform existing ad-hoc NCBMs into an integrated system of organizations with specified roles and responsibilities as envisioned in the Lahore Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The establishment of a robust institutionalized NCBMs regime becomes paramount to ensuring that mechanisms for communication, transparency, and restraint are firmly in place.

Existing NCBMs Framework

India and Pakistan have a checkered history of NCBMs. Both states started negotiating NCBMs a decade before their overt nuclearization in 1998 with the agreement to refrain from attacking each other’s nuclear facilities. Both countries have abided by the terms of this agreement, which requires them to share the locations of their civil nuclear facilities each calendar year. Post nuclearization, the Lahore Declaration and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of 1999 provided a framework for eventual nuclear talks and led to agreements on pre-notification of the flight-testing of ballistic missiles and reducing the risk from nuclear weapons accidents.

Yet, the NCBMs regime between India and Pakistan has much room to improve. The existing regime does not provide procedural details on how to implement the exchanged information, how........

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