Pakistan voices concern over nuclearisation of Indian Ocean

Top Pakistan civil-military leadership on Thursday expressed concern over the stockpiling of nuclear arms and installation of ballistic missile defence systems by neighbouring countries, including India, noting that such destabilising manoeuvres could undermine strategic stability in South Asia.

The National Command Authority (NCA) meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, backed Pakistan's defence forces to hold their own in case of any acts of aggression by the adversaries, but reaffirmed its commitment to Full Spectrum Deterrence - the principle on which Pakistan's nuclear strategy is based, Dawn reported.

The meeting expressed full confidence in security measures in place to protect the nation's strategic assets, and reiterated that as a responsible nuclear state, Pakistan will keep on improving its nuclear security as well as non-proliferation measures.

During the meeting, the high standards of training and operational readiness of the strategic forces to dispel all kinds of threats was also praised.

The meeting was attended by the Federal Minister of Defence and Interior, Chairman Joint Stafs Chief, all three service chiefs, Director General Strategic Plans Division, Director General Inter-Services Intelligence, Secretary Foreign Affairs and other senior officials.

--IANS

ahm/vm