Pak says opposed to nuclear arms race in South Asia

ISLAMABAD: Amid reports that it is expanding its atomic arsenal, Pakistan has said it opposed a nuclear or conventional arms race in South Asia but indirectly accused India of disturbing the "strategic balance" in the region, forcing Islamabad to "adopt necessary safeguards".

Responding to a question on the safety of Pakistan's nuclear assets, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a media briefing that Islamabad had maintained a policy of credible minimum deterrence.

"We are opposed to nuclear or conventional arms race in South Asia," he said when his reaction was sought on reports that Islamabad is expanding its nuclear arsenal.

"At the same time, however, Pakistan cannot remain oblivious to increasing conventional asymmetries, unrelenting arms acquisitions as well as preferential treatment being accorded to certain countries in the region," he said without naming any country.

"Such developments disturb the strategic balance and Pakistan is constrained to adopt necessary safeguards as it deems fit," he said.

In this regard, Basit said, the "nuclear threshold should not be lowered" by widening the conventional asymmetry between India and Pakistan. He claimed the conventional balance had been affected by the supply of sophisticated weapons to India and this had lowered the nuclear threshold.