Pakistan voices concern over ‘destabilizing’ arms build-up in South Asia 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Command Authority, which oversees operational command and control of the country’s nuclear arsenal, on Wednesday expressed concern over the “destabilizing massive arms build-up in the conventional and strategic domains” in the region, a statement from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s office said.
The statement did not specifically name any regional state, but it was a clear reference to arch-foe India. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have remained at loggerheads and fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947.
The two countries regularly engage in testing newly developed weapon systems, in an attempt to gain strategic dominance over each other.
“The NCA viewed these developments as detrimental to peace and security and asserted that Pakistan will take all measures to ensure the strategic stability in the region without entering into an arms race,” PM Khan’s office said.
“It reiterated maintaining full spectrum deterrence in line with the policy of credible minimum deterrence and expressed satisfaction on the development of strategic capabilities.”
The meeting, which was presided over by PM Khan and attended by his cabinet members and top military officials as well as the country’s spy chief, was given a detailed briefing on evolving conflict dynamics in the region.
The forum appreciated high standards of training and operational readiness of the strategic forces, and lauded the scientists and engineers whose dedicated contributions had enabled Pakistan to successfully pursue the desired objectives, according to the statement.
It expressed full confidence in the command-and-control systems as well as security measures in place to ensure comprehensive security of Pakistan’s strategic assets.