Foreign Office strongly refuted on Monday the remarks made by former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi regarding Pakistan's nuclear programme and said the government has an effective mechanism in place to safeguard the country's nuclear assets.
"Our policy of maintaining credible minimum deterrence will be maintained. Under no circumstances can this national programme, which is integral to Pakistan's defence, be compromised," foreign office maintained. The government, the armed forces and above all the people of Pakistan were absolutely committed to this objective, the FO spokesperson said.
It may be mentioned here that Qureshi while addressing a rally in Ghotki had said that Pakistan's nuclear programme was not safe under President Asif Ali Zardari's leadership. The spokesperson said that all powers were transferred to the Parliament and the Prime Minister was fully vested with executive authority after the promulgation of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
"The National Command Authority (NCA), which consists of the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Finance as well as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the three Services Chiefs, is now headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Strategic Plans Division of the National Command Authority is headed by the Director General, who also serves as the Secretary of the NCA."
"Besides the NCA and the Strategic Plans Division, there is also a Strategic Forces Command. These well-established institutional mechanisms are responsible for managing Pakistan's strategic assets and programmes," the FO spokesperson explained. Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state, she said adding that the NCA meets frequently to review all matters relating to the country' strategic programme and provide direction for upgrading the programme to suit Pakistan's defence requirements.
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