NEW YORK: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said his country has developed short-range nuclear weapons to counter the 'Cold Start' doctrine adopted by the Indian Army. He has also been assertive of the country's nuclear arsenals being safe and secure. In response to a question at top American think-tank the Council on Foreign Relations, he said, “We have a very robust and secure command-and-control system over our strategic nuclear assets. Time has proved that it's a process that is very secure. It's a process that has complete civilian oversight through the NCA.”
“As far as tactical nuclear weapons (are concerned), we do not have any fielded tactical nuclear weapons. We have developed short-range nuclear weapons as a counter to the 'Cold Start' doctrine that India has developed. Again, those are in the same command-and-control authority that controls the other strategic weapons,” Abbasi said. Moderator David Sanger said Pak has the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal in the world. “There is no nuclear arsenal in the world that is growing faster, and there's no nuclear arsenal in the world, other than North Korea's, that tends to worry American more, because they worry about the safety of the arsenal. They worry about the command and control of the arsenal.”
Abbasi said the command-and-control systems they have in place are as secure as anybody else's in the world. “The last 20 years are testament to that. So let there be no doubt that any extremist element or somebody like that can gain control of fissile material or a nuclear weapon. There is just no possibility of that and it's time-tested. It's a very secure system that has been put in place.”
