Indian hegemonic designs: Pakistan will not remain oblivious to security threats: official

ISLAMABAD: Referring to Indian hegemonic designs, Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch said Pakistan grapples with the dangers posed by Delhi’s weak command and control over its strategic forces, as evidenced by firing of Barahmos missile into its territory in 2022.

“Pakistan will not remain oblivious to clear threats to its security. We will maintain credible minimum deterrence against all forms of aggression.”

Foreign Secretary Baloch stated this while speaking at the High-Level segment of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) via video link on Wednesday.

She said that “this state” engaged with its rapid arms build-up, expanding and increasing its nuclear arsenal.

The largest state in south Asia continues to benefit from nuclear exceptionalism, receiving advanced weapons and technologies. Meanwhile, it pursues aggressive, destabilising policies in the region.

“It (India) refuses to implement United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions on illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where the situation remains precarious,” she pointed out.

Ambassador Baloch said that India has leveraged technology acquired through international cooperation, into its Ballistic Missile Programme. As a result, its growing missile arsenal can strike well beyond its neighbourhood, reaching far-east and western territories.

This state regularly issues threats of aggression against my country (Pakistan) from senior political leadership. It rejects dialogue on restraint and risk reduction. Its military doctrines seek war in a nuclear environment, she highlighted.

Despite continuing provocations and threats, Baloch said Pakistan remains committed to the goal of a peaceful and stable South Asia. Pakistan’s proposal on the establishment of a Strategic Restraint Regime (SRR) in the region remains on the table, premised on the three elements: dispute resolution, nuclear and missile restraint and conventional arms balance.

Artificial intelligence in military applications also demands immediate attention. We must establish guardrails before it is too late, the foreign secretary said, adding the CD must address how to resolve its stability risks including dangers of miscalculation, escalation, and arms races.

Conventional military asymmetries drive nuclear reliance.

A balanced reduction of armed forces and conventional arms must be part of a comprehensive security framework.

These are the most urgent areas where we must act.

Our ability to start negotiations in this conference depends on the policy priorities of its members, their threat perceptions and their core national security concerns.

Ambassador Baloch hinted that Pakistan is not opposed to discussion on fissile materials. We have proposed crafting a new mandate for a treaty that addresses the issue of fissile material comprehensively, effectively and verifiably. It should stipulate existing fissile material stocks explicitly in its scope – and this should apply equally to all the states without discrimination, she elaborated.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025