India's atomic blasts in May this year, which violently shook the nuclear status quo, were driven by its specific security perceptions and a desire to improve its standing in global politics. The response of Pakistan with tests of its own was conditioned by the dynamics of Islamabad's hostile relations with New Delhi. The atomic tests by both countries create a sort of power balance that would contribute to ensuring security stability in the region. The great power status the two countries seek out of the explosions is however, a remote possibility since New Delhi and Islamabad lack the prerequisites of a powerful industrial economy, a modernized stable society and a strong technological state.