Pakistan

No choice: Pakistan obliged to develop nukes, says Aizaz

Aizaz said pursuit of peace in South Asia remains the cornerstone of the country’s policy

News Desk October 01, 2015

PHOTO: APP

Pakistan was obliged to develop nuclear capability for its self-defence and deterrence, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said on Thursday.

”It was an existential choice that Pakistan made to preserve strategic stability in South Asia,” he remarked on the sidelines of the 70th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

The foreign secretary pointed out that “non-discriminatory, universal and general nuclear disarmament” remained the highest priority on the international security agenda for Pakistan. Aizaz said pursuit of peace in South Asia remains the cornerstone of the country’s policy.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2015.

COMMENTS (2)

Rabia | 9 years ago | Reply It was India who actually upset the balance of power and started the nuclear game in the region. These circumstances, however, prodded Pakistan to test nuclear weapons for deterrence and as an act to balance power. No country can overlook its security concerns and issues, and hence, Pakistan’s nuclear weapons serve as the guarantors of peace in the region.

Wajahat Khan | 9 years ago | Reply On May 18, 1974 India surprised much of the world by detonating its first nuclear device, code named as “Smiling Buddha” at Pokhran by diverting peaceful nuclear program to military purposes. The Indian nuclear test posed serious challenges for Pakistan but policy makers in Pakistan were acutely aware of the risks and responsibilities which nuclear weapons carried with. On the other hand, India initiated an ominous nuclear aspect into the volatile security environment of the South Asian region. Pakistan brought a proposal before the United Nations for a nuclear weapon-free zone in South Asia. To prevent South Asia from a nuclear arm race, Pakistan offered various proposals to India. In 1978 Pakistan proposed to India a joint Indo-Pakistan declaration renouncing the acquisition and manufacture of nuclear weapons. During very next year, Pakistan proposed to India mutual inspections by India and Pakistan of nuclear facilities.

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