Pakistan, Feb. 4 -- The final nuclear arms treaty between the United States and Russia is set to expire within hours, raising serious fears of a renewed global arms race. Unless both sides reach a last-minute agreement, the two largest nuclear powers will face no legal limits on their arsenals for the first time in more than fifty years.

For decades, arms control agreements created after the Cuban Missile Crisis helped reduce the risk of a catastrophic nuclear conflict. However, with the expiry of the New START treaty, those safeguards may disappear, leaving both nations free to expand their deployed warheads and delivery systems without restrictions.

Experts warn that without this treaty, Washington and Moscow could add hundreds of new...