President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday that Pakistan "is fully alive" to the developments taking place in the region and would take all necessary safeguards to ensure that its deterrence capability is maintained. He said this while presiding over a review meeting of National Command Authority held here at the Strategic Plans Division.
Pakistan's nuclear deterrence was fully operational and "continues to consolidate and strengthen" with time, he said.
The President said that it was not Pakistan's policy to engage in an arms race, but it would not close its eyes to induction of advanced weaponry in its neighbourhood.
He said that Pakistan "stands for peace and harmony" which is essential for the promotion of government's policy of economic growth and development, but all necessary defensive measures would be taken.
"No one," he said, "has a right to speculate about the effectiveness and reliability of Pakistan's Command and Control structures", which predicated those in its neighbourhood and were far more efficient, scientific and transparent.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz informed the meeting that Pakistan' s rapid economic growth in the coming years would generate large energy requirements and that the government had identified nuclear energy as one of the attractive and essential alternative sources. In view of energy needs, Pakistan would engage, with the international community, in enhancing its peaceful civilian nuclear programme.
The NCA took note of the recent Indo-US nuclear and defence framework and decided on appropriate measures.
The meeting of National Command Authority, which is the apex decision-making body in Pakistan's command and control structure, was also attended by Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Defence Minister Sikandar Iqbal, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Ehsan-ul-Haq, Services Chiefs, Secretary Defence and senior scientists and military officials.
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