NCA decides: Pakistan to continue pursuing policy of CMD

The National Command Authority (NCA), which met here under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, decided that Pakistan will continue to pursue its policy of Credible Minimum Deterrence (CMD) as a responsible nuclear weapons state. The 19th meeting of NCA on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the security and safety of Pakistan's strategic programmes and facilities.
It also expressed confidence in the operational readiness of Pakistan's strategic weapons. The decision of policy of CMD was taken after comprehensively reviewing the developments in the regional and global security environment. Detailed appraisal of the international and regional trends and policies and their implications for Pakistan have also been undertaken.
The NCA reiterated Pakistan's desire to constructively contribute to the realisation of a world free of nuclear weapons and to the goals of non-proliferation on the basis of equality and partnership with the international community. Accordingly, Pakistan was keen to join the four export control arrangements.
National Command Authority (NCA) has also approved the Nuclear Power Programme-2050 to meet the existing energy shortfalls and the future demand of energy. It further approved Pakistan's Space Programme-2040. The meeting was attended by members of the NCA including Federal Ministers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Services Chiefs, Secretary NCA DG SPD, and other senior officials.
In a statement, the ISPR said that the NCA expressed concern over the continued pursuit of policies that detracts from the globally shared norms and rules of equality, inclusiveness and objectivity. The NCA cautioned that such policies represent regression in the non-proliferation regime and tend to erode the strategic balance in South Asia. Pakistan would continue to take appropriate counter measures to ensure its security and to maintain regional stability.
The NCA reaffirmed the importance of nuclear safety. In this regard, it noted with satisfaction the safety review of all the existing and planned civil nuclear facilities by the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA). The NCA directed the PNRA and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) to continue to ensure that the programmes conform to the highest levels of safety and international best practices.
The NCA was also briefed on the nuclear security review undertaken recently. It expressed confidence in the institutionalised Command and Control System and comprehensive measures put in place to ensure reliability and security of strategic assets. The NCA underlined that the government and the people stood solidly behind the country's nuclear and missile programmes, which would be pursued to maintain effective, reliable and credible deterrence capability, and all attempts to undermine this capability would be thwarted with full force.