The retention of an essential nuclear capability is a "compulsion" for Pakistan because of the growing imbalance created by India's massive military build-up and "assertive posturing", a top Pakistani military commander has said.
General Tariq Majid, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, made the remarks while addressing a convocation ceremony at the National Defence University on Thursday night.
Though Majid did not name India in his speech, it was obvious he was referring to the neighbouring country as he referred to Indian military doctrines and the India-US nuclear deal.
Pakistan has to be mindful of the "blatant pursuit of military preponderance in our neighbourhood" and the build-up of conventional and nuclear forces, Majid said.
"Growing power imbalance due to continuing build-up of massive military machine, including both hi-tech conventional and nuclear forces, adoption of dangerous Cold Start doctrine and proactive strategy, more assertive posturing especially after the very exceptional civil nuclear deal and notions of two front war are all destabilising trends, carrying implications for Pakistan's security," he said.
"Therefore, retention of essential nuclear capability to maintain credible minimum deterrence against any possible aggression is our compulsion and not a matter of choice," Majid said.
His comments come barely a week before the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are to meet to find ways to bridge the trust deficit between the two countries.
Majid said Pakistan rejects "discriminatory policies" and demands its "rightful place as a nuclear weapon state."
As a "responsible nuclear weapon state and despite being a non-NPT country, Pakistan has always supported non-proliferation efforts, and our position on disarmament issues has remained consistent and pragmatic," he contended.
Referring to Fissile Material Treaty discussions, he said the move is "only Pakistan-specific" and unacceptable to the country.
"Countries of the world need to be sensitive to our security concerns rather than attempting in vain to browbeat us or riding roughshod over our concerns," he said.
On recurring concerns expressed by the West over the safety and security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons and materials, the General said that "nuclear security within a state is a national responsibility that we are shouldering with utmost vigilance and assurance."
Pakistan has put in place a "very robust regime that includes multilayered mechanisms and processes to secure our strategic assets, and have provided maximum transparency on our practices," he contended.
Islamabad has "reassured the international community on this issue over and over again and our track record since the time our nuclear programme was made overt has been unblemished," he claimed.
"We therefore, consider security to be a non issue, and strongly suggest that it is time to move beyond this issue. The world must accept our nuclear reality, and stop unwarranted insinuations to create alarms and deny us the related benefits," he added.
At the same time, the world community "must realize the daunting internal and external challenge that Pakistan faces," Majid said.
These challenges are "largely intertwined and Pakistan is in a vortex not by choice, but because of regional and international circumstances which in many ways are beyond its control," he claimed.
Referring to efforts to eradicate terrorism and violent extremism, Majid warned that these could trigger "increased reactive violence" and this factor will have to be included in strategies.
He said: "Our future counter-insurgency actions have to keep in perspective the larger strategic picture, especially the unfolding of events in Afghanistan and sustainability of domestic support for our counter-insurgency strategy in an environment of possibly increased reactive violence and a fragile economy."
Majid noted that the standing of a country in today's world is measured by its political and economic strengths, the state of development of its human resource and the management skills of the senior leadership.
"The need of the moment is to promote a culture of tolerance, stabilise the democratic dispensation with an effective governance system, and develop a viable economic order by making optimum utilisation of all our national resources," he said.
