Rejecting the insinuations made by former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi against President Asif Ali Zardari in his speech at a public rally in Ghotki on Sunday, the Foreign Office said on Monday that Pakistan’s nuclear programme was safe and there would be no compromise on it.
Commenting on Qureshi’s remarks, Foreign Office Spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said it was well known that under the 18th Amendment, all powers were transferred to parliament and the executive authority lay fully with the prime minister.
“Accordingly, the National Command Authority (NCA) which consists of the ministers of defence, foreign affairs, interior and finance as well as the Joint Chiefs Of Staff Committee chairman and the three services’ chiefs is now headed by the prime minister of Pakistan,” she said in a statement. She said further that the Strategic Plans Division of the NCA was headed by the director general, who also served as the secretary of the NCA. “Besides the NCA and the Strategic Plans Division, there is also the Strategic Forces Command. These well-established institutional mechanisms are responsible for managing Pakistan’s strategic assets and programmes. We have effective custodial controls,” she added.
The spokeswoman stated that Pakistan was a responsible nuclear power. “The National Command Authority meets frequently to review all matters relating to strategic programmes and provide direction to upgrade our strategic programme to suit Pakistan’s defence requirements,” she said.
“Our policy of maintaining credible minimum deterrence will be maintained. Under no circumstances can this national programme, which is integral to Pakistan’s defence, be compromised,” said Tehmina.
She said the government, the armed forces and above all the people of Pakistan were absolutely committed to the objective. “The insinuations made against the president in the aforementioned remarks are baseless and strongly refuted,” she added.
