Strategic stability in SA being undermined due to significant development in Pakistan’s neighbourhood: Foreign secy

ISLAMABAD, Oct 30 (APP):Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood Wednesday said strategic stability in South Asia was 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, he said while speaking at launch of Arms Control and Disarmament Centre (ACDC) at Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI).

He said the war-fighting capabilities had been demonstrated in Outer Space, thus threatening its sustainability while anti-ballistic missiles had been introduced.

He said there had 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, he added.

He said 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.

The foreign secretary said the world saw a demonstration of this belligerent military posture earlier this year, when in the wake of the Pulwama incident in occupied Kashmir, there was an attempt to resort to aggression against Pakistan on a completely false pretence. 

While responding effectively in self-defence, he said, Pakistan exhibited restraint and responsibility. However, he added that it was not always possible to predict the trajectory of escalation in similar situations and Pakistan could not 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-recognized 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 senior members of the BJP government,including on nuclear issues and threats of dismemberment, leave little doubt about the reckless mind-set at work, he said and added that they also illustrated the serious perils for peace that stem from the intersection of an extremist ideology and hegemonic ambitions.

Sohail Mahmood said the topmost priority of the government was socio-economic development and improving the lives of the people of Pakistan, adding this necessitated a conducive regional environment.

Pakistan, he said, therefore, desired peace and strategic stability in the region. “Our desire for peace should not, however, be mistaken as a weakness. Let there be no doubt about Pakistan’s will and capability to defend itself against any kind of aggression,” he said. 

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 relevant UN Security Council resolutions; without agreeing on reciprocal measures for nuclear and missile restraint; and without instituting a balance between conventional forces, he added.

The foreign secretary said Pakistan’s proposal for a Strategic Restraint Regime in South Asia, based on the three inter-locking elements, remains on the table.
At the global level, he said, Pakistan continued to actively support and contribute towards non-proliferation instruments and arrangements.

For medium and small-sized countries, he said, the best guarantee for peace and stability and against any arbitrary actions by bigger powers, remained a strong non-discriminatory rule-based global order. 

It is, therefore, in our interest to strengthen the non-proliferation regime, he said, however, added, for the credibility of this regime it was essential to ensure even-handed approaches in terms of application of rules and access to dual-use technologies for peaceful uses.

He said discrimination and deviations from established non-proliferation standards based on political and commercial considerations, should be done away with.
“We are 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,.” he added.

Sohail Mahmood said the objectives of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation could not be achieved in a vacuum and there was 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, he said, adding that this was yet another aspect which demanded further attention by the research community.