CND is gravely concerned about the escalation of rhetoric and fighting between two nuclear armed protagonists in south Asia.

As we said in 1998, when India and Pakistan conducted their reciprocal nuclear tests, the introduction of nuclear weapons to such a volatile region of the world would make both nations less, not more secure.

Once you threaten to use nukes, you must be prepared to use them, as Geoff Hoon said recently. Down this road lies madness.

What is required as a matter of urgency is a de-escalation of tension and international pressure on the protagonists to negotiate a peaceful settlement.

The global elimination of nuclear arsenals and the renunciation of the destabilising theories behind them must be next on the agenda, as agreed under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.