New Delhi, Nov. 4 -- It is time for a new initiative to re-establish nuclear restraint. We need a global no-first-use treaty signed by all nuclear powers, declared and undeclared, given how the rhetoric over nukes has been heating up. This January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which devised the Doomsday Clock that shows how close humanity is to nuclear catastrophe, moved its seconds hand one tick closer to midnight-or doom.

Since then, the risk scenario has worsened. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is dead and the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that is about to expire in February 2026 has bleak odds of renewal. Now, US President Donald Trump's order for his 'Department of War' to resume nuclear tests might sou...