20th anniversary of nuclear tests today

Country aims to expand nuclear power generation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan marks 20th anniversary on May 28 of the nuclear tests conducted by the country in 1998 as it was forced to take that decision as a response in self-defence to the nuclear tests conducted by its neighbor India, said a press release of Foreign Office on Sunday.

These developments unfortunately put an end to the prospect for keeping South Asia free of nuclear weapons - an objective which Pakistan had actively pursued.

Pakistan has remained steadfast in its commitment to non-proliferation and global peace and strategic stability, the statement said.

Since 1998, Pakistan has demonstrated utmost restraint and responsibility in the stewardship of its nuclear capability. It is committed to the principle of Credible Minimum Deterrence and has persistently sought deterrence stability in the region. This objective has driven Pakistan to offer and conclude several Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in the nuclear and conventional domains, including the 2004 Pakistan-India Joint Statement which recognized the respective nuclear capabilities of the two countries as a factor for stability.

Pakistan has consistently signaled its willingness to consider further measures for risk reduction and avoidance of arms race in the region, it added. At the same time, Pakistan remains confident of its ability to deny space for any misadventure against the backdrop of rapidly expanding nuclear and conventional forces in its neighbourhood, deployment of BMD and pursuit of aggressive security doctrines and developing force postures.

“The nuclearisation of the Indian Ocean and canesterization of ballistic missiles in our neighbourhood should be a matter of concern for the international community as well, since these developments have extra-regional ramifications,” said the statement. Pakistan has over the years developed robust command and control systems led by the National Command Authority, effective nuclear safety and security regimes and export controls which are at par with the contemporary international standards.

Pakistan plans to increase its nuclear power generation capacity to 40,000 MW by 2050, as a clean and cost-effective alternative to fossil fuel. Pakistan also looks forward to expanding the scope of its international collaboration in nuclear power generation.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2018.