ISLAMABAD – Pakistan ha claimed that the nuclear tests by India in May 1998forced it to take the decision to test its own atomic weapons. Marking the20th anniversary of the seven nuclear tests conducted in 1998, Pakistanhinted that India’s nuclear tests put an end “to the prospect for keepingSouth Asia free of nuclear weapons”.
“28 May 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the nuclear tests conducted byPakistan in 1998. Pakistan was forced to take that decision as a response,in self-defence, to the nuclear tests and accompanying hostile posturing byits neighbour. These developments unfortunately put an end to the prospectfor keeping South Asia free of nuclear weapons – an objective whichPakistan had actively pursued. Notwithstanding these facts, Pakistan hasremained steadfast in its commitment to non-proliferation and global peaceand strategic stability,” the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a pressrelease on Sunday.
“Since 1998, Pakistan has demonstrated utmost restraint and responsibilityin the stewardship of its nuclear capability. It is committed to theprinciple of Credible Minimum Deterrence and has persistently soughtdeterrence stability in the region. This objective has driven Pakistan tooffer and conclude several Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in thenuclear and conventional domains, including the 2004 Pakistan-India JointStatement which recognized the respective nuclear capabilities of the twocountries as a factor for stability. Pakistan has consistently signaled itswillingness to consider further measures for risk reduction and avoidanceof arms race in the region,” the release added.
Pakistan also claimed that it is confident of “ability to deny space forany misadventure against the backdrop of rapidly expanding nuclear andconventional forces in its neighbourhood, deployment of BMD and pursuit ofaggressive security doctrines and developing force postures”. “Thenuclearization 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.”
While India had conducted its first atomic test in 1974 in Pokhran inRajasthan, the country became overtly nuclear only after conducting fivetests on May 11, 1998 and May 13, 1998. While three nuclear bombs weretested on May 11, two were conducted on May 13. Two weeks later Pakistanfollowed suit with seven tests in the Ras Koh Hills in Chagai district ofPakistan’s Balochistan province.