Islamabad, October 31, 2019 (PPI-OT): Pakistan desires peace and strategic stability in the region but its desire for peace should not be mistaken as weakness, as it is fully capable of defending itself against any kind of aggression,” said Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood at the launch of Arms Control and Disarmament Centre at the Institute of Strategic Studies here.
He said Pakistan remained open to consideration of measures for crisis management, risk reduction, transparency and confidence-building. “Peace and stability in South Asia cannot be achieved without resolving the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, without agreeing on reciprocal measures for nuclear and missile restraint and without instituting a balance between conventional forces. Our proposal for a Strategic Restraint Regime in South Asia, based on these three inter-locking elements, remains on the table”, he said.
Sohail pointed out that strategic stability in South Asia is being undermined due to significant developments in Pakistan’s neighbourhood. “These include the massive build-up of nuclear and conventional forces by India, acquisition and introduction of new destabilizing capabilities, and nuclearization of the Indian Ocean. War-fighting capabilities have been demonstrated in Outer Space, thus threatening its sustainability. Anti-ballistic missiles have been introduced,” he pointed out.
There has been a constant increase in the readiness, sophistication and diversification of all types of delivery systems and platforms. “The threshold of conflict has been lowered as a result of aggressive postures which seek to create space for war in a nuclearized context.
The flawed notion of establishment of a ‘new normal’ and fantasies of ‘punishing Pakistan’ while remaining below the threshold of a nuclear conflict demonstrate irresponsible and reckless behaviour by a state which seeks to divert attention from its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir and repression of the Kashmiri people”, said the foreign secretary.
International security environment is in a state of flux, with profound and far-reaching changes underway. Strategic stability is being negatively affected at the global and regional levels. “The long-standing and painfully negotiated arms control and non-proliferation agreements are unraveling. There is an ongoing erosion of multilateralism and growing polarization in the field of international security and disarmament”, he added.
The concept of strategic stability is being challenged by newer notions like ‘strategic competition’ and ‘strategic dominance.’ It is important for our researchers to assess the full import of these developments and their potential impact, especially with regard to the security situation in South Asia. In this context, he pointed to the belligerent military posture earlier this year in the wake of Pulwama incident in the Indian Occupied Kashmir.
“Pakistan exhibited restraint and responsibility. However, it is not always possible to predict the trajectory of escalation in similar situations and Pakistan cannot be expected to one-sidedly pick up the burden for maintaining peace all the times”, he said. The BJP government’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 to change the internationally-recognised disputed status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and alter its demographic structure – in flagrant violation of the Security Council resolutions, UN Charter and bilateral agreements – have engendered further volatility in South Asia.
“The irresponsible statements made by the senior members of the BJP government, including on nuclear issues and threats of dismemberment, leave little doubt about the reckless mind-set at work. They also illustrate the serious perils for peace that stem from the intersection of an extremist ideology and hegemonic ambitions”, warned the foreign secretary. At the global level, Pakistan continues to actively support and contribute towards non-proliferation instruments and arrangements.
For medium and small-sized countries, the best guarantee for peace and stability and against any arbitrary actions by bigger powers, remains a strong non-discriminatory rule-based global order. “It is, therefore, in our interest to strengthen the non-proliferation regime. However, for the credibility of this regime it is essential to ensure even-handed approaches in terms of application of rules and access to dual-use technologies for peaceful uses”, stressed the foreign secretary.
Discrimination and deviations from established non-proliferation standards, based on political and commercial considerations, should be done away with. Pakistan is witness to the negative impact of the 2008 India-specific NSG exemption for the non-proliferation regime as well as its repercussions for regional stability. “The objectives of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation cannot be achieved in a vacuum.
There is a need for reviewing and strengthening the UN mechanisms for the resolution of disputes, prevention of conflict, and collective security. The current paralysis of the UN disarmament machinery can only be addressed by creating the necessary conditions which ensure equal and undiminished security for all states. This is yet another aspect which demands further attention by the research community”, he added.
Pakistan, he said, needs to study how some of the military applications of emerging technologies might lead to restrictions on transfers of such technologies for genuine peaceful applications. “Moreover, the global prevalence of some of the technologies would also entail a review of the existing export control regimes and the need for making them more inclusive. It will also require us to give a thought to new approaches towards risk reduction, transparency and confidence-building measures among states,” he added.
“The topmost priority of the government is socio-economic development and improving the lives of the people of Pakistan, which necessitates a conducive regional environment. However, the threshold of conflict has been lowered in the region as a result of aggressive postures which seek to create space for war in a nuclearized context,” he added.
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