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The overt nuclearization in South Asia brought peace and closed the doors for any conventional war between India and Pakistan. But the Indian military doctrinal transformation after 1998 threatened the deterrence stability in South Asia. The idea of limited war under the nuclear umbrella, also known as Cold Start Doctrine (CSD), compelled Pakistan to develop nuclear tipped low yield battlefield nuclear weapons to deter shallow manoeuvres by the Indian Army. Indian Military, later realized that the idea of limited war is risky, and it may escalate into a major war, thus, came up with the idea of sub-conventional warfare, the surgical strikes in its the Joint Armed Forces Doctrine-2017. The Indian military planners perceived that there is a possibility of surgical strikes or limited war in South Asia. However, Pakistani policy makers firmly believe that any attempt to carry out surgical strike will be massively retaliated within shortest possible time. Later, the risk and cost associated with any direct military engagement compelled Indian policy makers to emphasize more on hybrid warfare strategy and indirectly capitalize on the socio-economic, ethno-religious, and political vulnerabilities of Pakistan. The study seeks to analyse the Indian military's doctrinal shift and its implications for the strategic stability of South Asia. It also deals with Pakistan's conventional and nuclear response to the doctrinal transformation by the Indian military. The strategic shift in the Indian military's thinking is continuous because Pakistan came up with adequate answers to their doctrinal manoeuvring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debate about inevitability of space is getting weaponized and a focal issue. Introduction of 3rd and 4th generation of warfare concepts have blurred the conventional warfare a bit further. Destruction associated with lethal weapons on earth have made the great powers' policy makers to think differently and find out the means to enhance their strategic ends by exploiting the technological edge they have over rest. Outer space weapons are expected to be the mean for seeking and maintaining great power status and maintaining it too. The US President; Trump has already shown his willingness to exploit outer space as a domain to ensure safety and security of the US mainland. The US approach under Trump Administration has rung the bells among the US strategic competitors like, Russia and China who view the development against the normative status of outer space i.e. common heritage. Similarly, in the South Asian context, India has been looking for its great power status since its inception in 1947. India, under the leadership of nationalist government, has shown its resolve to exploit its outer space edge in the South Asian region to meet its long awaited end of becoming a great power. However, it is, easier to than to do, Indian major power status through use of space control would be counter-productive for its neighbor -- Pakistan, who feels existential threat from it. Thus introduction of space weapons in South Asian security calculus would negatively impact upon strategic and deterrence stability of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]