ISLAMABAD : Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal has saidthat Pakistan s nuclear programme is only for defense purposes.
Speaking on the 20th anniversary of nuclear tests, he said that Pakistanconducted nuclear tests in 1998 in response to the nuclear tests andaccompanying hostile posturing by its neighbour.
“These developments unfortunately put an end to the prospect for keepingSouth Asia free of nuclear weapons — an objective which Pakistan hadactively pursued,” he said. Notwithstanding these facts, Pakistan hasremained steadfast in its commitment to non-proliferation and global peaceand strategic stability, he said.
Dr Faisal said Pakistan has demonstrated utmost restraint andresponsibility in the stewardship of its nuclear capability since 1998. Itis committed to the principle of Credible Minimum Deterrence and haspersistently sought deterrence stability in the region.
This objective has driven Pakistan to offer and conclude several ConfidenceBuilding Measures (CBMs) in the nuclear and conventional domains, includingthe 2004 Pakistan-India Joint Statement which recognized the respectivenuclear capabilities of the two countries as a factor for stability.Pakistan has consistently signaled its willingness to consider furthermeasures for risk reduction and avoidance of arms race in the region.
He said that at the same time, Pakistan remains confident of its ability todeny space for any misadventure against the backdrop of rapidly expandingnuclear and conventional forces in its neighbourhood, deployment of BMD andpursuit of aggressive security doctrines and developing force postures.
The nuclearization of the Indian Ocean and canesterization of ballisticmissiles in our neighbourhood should be a matter of concern for theinternational community as well, since these developments haveextra-regional ramifications, he said.
Cognizant of its responsibility as a state with nuclear capability,Pakistan has over the years developed robust command and control systemsled by the National Command Authority, effective nuclear safety andsecurity regimes and export controls which are at par with the contemporaryinternational standards. Pakistan has taken significant measures to ensurecomprehensive nuclear security which have been acknowledged internationally.
He further said that Pakistan is also proud of its accomplishments inharnessing nuclear technology for peace, progress and prosperity. Nucleartechnology has been successfully employed for the benefit of the people inareas of medicine, health, agriculture, industry, food preservation, watermanagement and power generation. Being one of the most affected countriesdue to the impact of climate change, Pakistan plans to increase its nuclearpower generation capacity to 40000 MW by 2050, as a clean andcost-effective alternative to fossil fuel. Pakistan looks forward toexpanding the scope of its international collaboration in nuclear powergeneration for meeting the legitimate socio-economic development needs ofits people.
He said that as a country with advanced nuclear technology, Pakistan seeksto play its role as a mainstream partner in the global non-proliferationregime. Pakistan has also expressed its desire to join the multilateralexport control regimes and has already applied for participation in theNuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) based on non-discriminatory criteriaapplicable in a fair manner to all non-NPT states.