Of N - warheads

India and Pakistan are stockpiling nuclear weapons at a rapid pace, with the two nations adding an almost identical 20 to 30 warheads in the last one year, a leading Swedish think tank said on Tuesday. In its yearbook for 2011, the Stockholm International Peace Research Insitute (SIPRI) also pointed out that India and Pakistan continued with the development and deployment of ballistic and cruise missiles that are capable of delivering nuclear weapons, estimated to be 110 warheads with each of the countries. India, said the SIPRI yearbook, currently holds about 80 to 110 nuclear warheads, about 30 more than its estimated to be 60-80 a year ago. Pakistan, too, boasts of about 90 to 110 warheads, up by 20 warheads from 70-90 in 2010. “India and Pakistan, which along with Israel are de facto nuclear weapons states outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, continue to develop new ballistic and cruise missile systems capable of delivering nuclear weapons. They are also expanding their capacities to produce fissile material for military purposes,” the yearbook, released in Stockholm, said. India has no means for officially releasing data on its nuclear weapons stock, but SIPRI’s estimates seem to be based on calculations of the country’s inventory of weapons-grade plutonium as well as the number of operational nuclear-capable delivery systems. India currently operates 20 nuclear reactors, mostly meant for civilian energy use. Pakistan operates two plutonium production reactors, and construction work on two more such facilities appears to be under way.