Islamabad - Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry yesterday ruled out any terrorist threat to Pakistan’s nuclear assets.

“Pakistan’s nuclear programme complies with global standards of safety and has never faced any threats. Terrorists have never attempted to harm the programme. Our programme has remained secure even during waves of terrorism," the foreign secretary told a seminar on unsealed safety on Thursday.

Urging the United States to shun discriminatory treatment against Islamabad when it comes to nuclear and defence ties, the foreign secretary warned if India is given preferential treatment regarding membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group, then stopping a regional nuclear arms race will become a distant dream. “Indian aggression is not in the best interests of the region,” he said.

Aizaz reiterated the claim that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal was "not against anyone" and is only for self-defence, and sought Indian cooperation in the realm of nuclear safety, security and regulatory framework.

He said Pakistan was a responsible nuclear state and its nuclear assets were safe and regularised by the autonomous Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority.

He said Pakistan qualified for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and had mobilised member countries in order to support the cause.

About Pakistan and India cooperation on nuclear issue, he said both the nucealer neighbours could cooperate on nuclear safety and security within the framework of those conventions.

Speaking about other possible nuclear CBMs with India, the secretary pointed out that Pakistan had extensive experience on the establishment and functioning of an independent nuclear regulatory body.

He said India lacked an independent regulatory agency and Pakistan had earlier suggested that both countries should sign a bilateral moratorium on nuclear testing.

“Pakistan’s suggestions, however, have never been positively received,” Aizaz lamented and added that both countries needed to bolster confidence-building measures in order to reach pragmatic solutions to long-standing disputes.

The foreign secretary further spoke about Pakistan’s application for membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group and recalled the merits and strengths of its case.

He hoped that NSG members would uphold non-proliferation goals and objectives of strategic stability while considering membership cases.

Other experts participating in the conference looked at the various issues affecting strategic stability in South Asia – the growing conventional imbalance; the introduction of tactical nuclear weapons; nuclearization of Indian Ocean Region; Indian plans for ballistic missile defense (BMD) with a view to develop recommendations for policymakers. The conference also looked at the future trends.

Experts agree that in the absence of an overarching restraint regime and institutionalized crisis management mechanisms the strategic environment in the region remains fragile.

Executive Director CISS Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi, while introducing the conference theme, said India’s acquisition of advanced weapons system, along with sophisticated missile-defence systems, introduction of technologically advanced and sophisticated nuclear weapons, and provocative war fighting doctrines under a nuclear overhang can only make strategic stability more fragile.

He further pointed out that deepening Indo-US defence and strategic cooperation will disturb the strategic balance in the region and may trigger an arms competition in the region involving not only Pakistan and India but China also.

Director South Asia at Atlantic Council Bharat Gopalaswamy said that though worst assumptions of western think tanks about Pakistan and India proved to be overblown, but it remained a fact that both countries have to deal with same set of challenges relating to nuclear stability, safety and security.

Talking about nuclearization of Indian Ocean and its implication, Mr Zahir Kazmi, a nuclear expert, contended that the development would affect the security interests of all littoral states in addition to impacting the regional and global security.

Mr Kazmi also flagged safety concerns arising out of India’s naval nuclearization.

Another nuclear expert Dr Adil Sultan, while speaking about Indian Cold Start Doctrine’s (CSD) influence on Pakistan’s decision to introduce battlefield nuclear weapons said Indians tried to exploit the ‘perceived’ gap below Pakistan’s nuclear threshold.

These new war-fighting doctrines, if left unchallenged, could have undermined the credibility of Pakistan’s nuclear deterrence, he said adding short-range ballistic missile ‘Nasr’ was introduced to plug the ‘perceived’ gap, strengthen overall nuclear deterrence and maintain strategic stability in the region. 

Ambassador Tariq Osman Hyder called for international support for the Pakistani proposal for Strategic Restraint Regime and other confidence building measures.

Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, associate professor Quaid-e-Azam University, explained the causes behind the widening conventional imbalance between India and Pakistan and its impact on the region’s security and strategic environment.

In Dr Jaspal’s view India’s economic growth, rivalry with Pakistan, absence of bilateral arms control between India and Pakistan were the reasons behind India’s massive military build-up. This, he believed, was causing strategic stability-instability paradox in the South Asian strategic environment.

He opined that India was disinterested in Pakistani proposal for nuclear restraint regime due to its advantageous position in the conventional arms sphere.

The seminar was jointly organised by Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS) and Atlantic Council, an American think tank.