Pakistan, IMHO, would be better off not drawing too much attention and sticking to a new missile under 2750km in range. Better to spend extra resources on warhead count, missile count, high yield, and decoys.
A survivable arsenal is more valuable than a longer range one we have no need to use (unless directly threatened and need to address, in which case another stage could be added and the range extended by a few thousand more kilometers relatively easily).
Something like the Pukguksong-3
A very informative podcast on the missile
www.armscontrolwonk.com
The Pukguksong-3 ("Polaris-3") is a North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) with an estimated range of 1,900 km.
missilethreat.csis.org
P.s. I hope Pakistan supplements/replaces its Shaheen 1/1A missile with a more compact 1000 km carbon fiber missile (faster and with a hypersonic glider warhead to evade all known defenses). The smaller the missile, the easier it will be to move and hide from enemy detection (especially if the TEL; Transporter Erector launcher,
looks as much like a normal army truck)
Akin to the planned 1000 km range US PRSM Missile (0.432 meter diameter and 3.962 meter long missile, wow)
on a relatively small truck.
should be a regular looking
army truck (per the rules of war) like this. During high tensions it would allow a small convoy, of similar looking trucks for force protection (maybe on truck carries an air defense system under its canopy), to carry a missile and do the famous “shell game” more efficiently. Spreading units all over the extensive national road network with a fully active 1000 km missile with a 250 kt warhead mated and really to go, it would make it really hard to find one let alone take out the entire arsenal. Instead of long range, build more of these 2750 km and 1000 km missiles and the warheads. Build up the arsenal to at least 500 warheads, such that denuclearization will be hard, and Pakistan could even offer a nuclear umbrella to partner nations if politics require, without significant effect on Pakistan’s own deterrence strength.
A missile like the small SLBM being made by North Korea.