The threat of a nuclear war has increased with the recent nuclear tests in India and Pakistan. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists uses a "Doomsday Clock" to illustrate how close the world is to nuclear war. It had previously stood at 14 minutes to midnight. The group have just moved their clock forward to only 9 minutes to midnight.
In a statement they said:
"The Bulletin's Board of Directors moves the hand not only in response to the addition of two more states as declared nuclear powers, but also to dramatize the failure of world diplomacy in the nuclear sphere; the increased danger that the nonproliferation regime might ultimately collapse; and the fact that deep reductions in the numbers of nuclear weapons, which seemed possible at the start of the decade, have not been realized."
Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Gohab Ayub Khan, has said that the dispute with India over Kashmir could trigger a nuclear war "at any time". Although Pakistan has also announced a moratorium on further nuclear tests there is great concern that the conflict over Kashmir could escalate at any time.