ISLAMABAD: Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) General Nadeem Raza on Monday said Pakistan is a responsible nuclear power while adding that unnecessary and unfounded views on Pakistan’s nuclear programme should be avoided.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), his comments came during a keynote address delivered at a seminar on “Regional Environment and Imperatives of Security” at the NUST Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS) in Islamabad. The seminar was attended by students, academics and distinguished experts from different parts of the country.

Commenting on the regional security environment, General Raza, who is also the deputy chairman of the National Command Authority (NCA), reiterated the significance of Pakistan’s nuclear capability as the guarantor of deterrence and defence of Pakistan.

Pakistan’s nuclear programme enjoys across-the-board support of all political parties and the people of Pakistan. The NCA, with all its political and military leadership, stands firm for the strategic programme, he said.

He asserted that national security is indivisible and assured that under no circumstances shall Pakistan allow a compromise on its nuclear program.

“Pakistan is a confident and responsible nuclear power. It pursues the policy of full-spectrum deterrence within the precincts of credible minimum deterrence. Our national security and safety architecture meets all national and international obligations and caters for all kinds of scenarios.”

He went on to say that as a norm in other nuclear-capable nations, “unnecessary and unfounded views on the strategic program should be avoided”.

“When necessary, NCA is the right forum to issue specific responses or views.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022