News
Friday, June 18, 2010
Pakistan faces internal, external challenges, says Gen MajidStaff Report
ISLAMABAD: Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Chairman General Tariq Majid has asked the international community to realize the internal and external challenges that Pakistan faces, and has said that Pakistan is in a vortex not by choice, but because of regional and global circumstances which in many ways are beyond its control.
He made these remarks while addressing the convocation of the National Defence Course, Armed Forces War Course and the Allied Officers War Course at the National Defence University, according to a news release issued here on Thursday. On the occasion, General Majid also spoke about the eradication of terrorism and violent extremism.
“We have to be mindful of the blatant pursuit of military preponderance in our neighbourhood,” the JCSC chairman said, adding the growing power imbalance due to continuing build up of the massive military machine, including both hi-tech conventional and nuclear forces and more assertive posturing were all destabilizing trends, carrying implications for the security of Pakistan.
“The retention of essential nuclear capability to maintain credible minimum deterrence against any possible aggression is a compulsion and not a matter of choice,” he said, adding as a responsible nuclear weapon state and despite being a non-NPT country, Pakistan has always supported non-proliferation efforts, and its position on disarmament issues has remained consistent and pragmatic.
“We demand our rightful place as a nuclear weapon state and reject discriminatory policies,” General Majid said. Speaking about FMT discussions, he said that the FMT was only Pakistan specific, which is unacceptable. He expressed his views on recurring concerns on safety and security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and materials and said that nuclear security within a state is a national responsibility that the armed forces are shouldering with utmost vigilance and assurance.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk