ISLAMABAD -- India's decision to pursue the development of its Agni-III nuclear missile despite being urged by Western countries to abandon the plan will intensify an already worrisome arms race in South Asia.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan is bound to press ahead with its own missile-development plan, despite being urged by the United States and other Western countries to restrain itself.

In the new world order that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, and America's subsequent invasion of Iraq, global security -- or indeed insecurity -- is assuming a new form.