Nuclear deterrence at all costs: CJCSC Pakistan’s armed forces

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) of Pakistan’s armed forces, General Tariq Majid said here on Thursday, the nuclear weapons are the cornerstone of Pakistan’s deterrence doctrine and we are determined to retain it at all costs. No amount of coercion, direct or indirect, can force us to compromise on this core interest”. Addressing a convocation at National Defence University here he termed the speculations about Pakistan’s nuclear assets as a vicious campaign, unleashed to malign and discredit Pakistan by deliberately spreading disinformation about the security of our nuclear assets in the context of current domestic instability and creating doubts that some compromises on our strategic programme have been or are being made. General Tariq Majid said based on the pillars of restraint and responsibility, we have developed and operationalised a very effective nuclear weapons security regime which is multilayered, has stringent access controls and incorporates modern technical solutions and rigorous personnel reliability programmes. “As the system conforms to international best practices and has the capacity to meet all challenges, there should be absolutely no doubt about the viability of custodial controls and fail safe security arrangements put in place.” As custodian of the development of strategic programme and its security, he made it clear in unambiguous terms that our solutions are home-grown and do not allow intrusiveness by any state. “No foreign individual, entity or state has been provided or shall ever be provided access to our sensitive information,” he said. “Insinuations to the contrary are plain mischievous and need to be contemptuously dismissed.” Commenting on the scenarios implying the international community to mobilize and secure our nuclear weapons, he said “let it be known that Pakistan is confident but not complacent; our security apparatus prepares and practices contingencies to meet all such eventualities, and would not be deterred from taking any action whatsoever in ensuring that our strategic assets are jealously safeguarded. Any attempt to undermine our core capability will be strongly resisted and defeated.” He commended the efforts of the faculty and management of National Defence University which besides grooming the senior civil and military leadership had also made tremendous contributions in refining and defining strategic and operational concepts of the armed forces as well as for civilian policy makers, laying down criteria of their successful implementation. Addressing the graduates General Tariq said, “In today’s world the standing of a country is measured by its political and economic strengths, the state of development of its human resource, and the management skills of the senior leadership of which you are a part.” “The need of the moment is to promote a culture of tolerance, establish a stable democratic and an effective governance system, and develop a vibrant economic order by making optimum utilization of all our national resources.” “For a country like Pakistan which is braving through complex challenges, the task of policy and decision makers is not easy. On one hand we have resource constraints, and on the other, we have pressing security and developmental needs to be addressed.” “The test of leadership is in judicious utilization of the available resources while evolving and implementing policies which aim at minimising the security risks as well as enlarging the resource base. This is where your role gets defined as the future policy makers.” He advised the graduates that as future leaders and policy makers they have an obligation to carry with them the lessons learnt at National Defence University and act in supreme national interest without fear or favour. Congratulating armed forces officers, civil bureaucrats and senior officers from friendly countries on successful completion of the course, General Tariq expressed the hope that the enhanced knowledge, competence, capacity for analysis and decision making would make them an asset for their nations and the world at large.

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