India shedding NFU under Hindutva ideology dangerous, says Ehsan-ul-Haq

ISLAMABAD: Former chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General (r) Ehsan-ul-Haq Friday asserted that Indian moves to shed its pretence of ‘No First Use’ (NFU) of nuclear weapons doctrine at a time when Hindutva ideology was dominating in India, was worrying for Pakistan.

Ehsan-ul-Haq was speaking at the launch of Dr. Brigadier (r) Naeem Salik’s book ‘Learning to Live with the Bomb, Pakistan: 1998-2016,’ published by Oxford University Press.

In his 352-page book, Dr Salik, who has previously worked with Strategic Plans Division (SPD) and has contributed to establishment of National Command Authority, sheds light on the evolution of Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine, the establishment of command and control apparatus, and development of safety and security mechanisms. This is the second book authored by Dr. Salik, who is now associated with Islamabad’s Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS) as a senior research fellow.

 “The most dangerous thing is that these pronouncements are coming in the context of Hindutva agenda of BJP government. Otherwise, at no stage since the 1998 nuclear tests did Pakistan, at any level, consider Indian pronouncements of NFU credible. Indians are now themselves exposing the falsehood of those claims,” Ehsan-ul-Haq said.

This is the first time that a senior former official in Pakistan has reacted to recent indications by Indian scholars, based on statements to top Indian officials, that India could be moving away from its declared NFU doctrine and consider a massive disarming strike against Pakistan.

Ehsan-ul-Haq recalled that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian attitude has turned increasingly belligerent. At the same time, Pakistan suffers from discriminatory attitudes in the global non-proliferation regime, he observed adding, “Pakistan has to carefully monitor developments related to the nuclear order and exercise utmost vigilance in safeguarding its legitimate interests.”

He regretted that despite possessing nuclear capability, Pakistan still does not exhibit the confidence of a nuclear power in its policies, diplomacy, and national psyche and character. This, he maintained, must change because “while there are many things that could be done to us, there are many things that cannot be done to us.”

Dr. Salik contended that there had been a significant change in Pakistan’s behaviour as a state since it got nuclear weapons. “If you compare 1999 Kargil crisis with the subsequent events, you find a degree of maturity in thinking, there is more certainty, there is a defining thought process. There is enough evidence to suggest that Pakistan has learnt a lot,” he said while talking about the ‘learning’ that Pakistan underwent since the nuclear tests. Persistent international pressure, Dr. Salik believes, “accelerated Pakistan’s learning process.”

Introducing the book, the Executive Director of CISS Sarwar Naqvi said, the publication gives an insight into Pakistan’s own learning curve regarding management of multiple aspects of its nuclear programme.

Naqvi said, “As a person with extensive experience of representing Pakistan on the nuclear diplomacy front, I can say that the content of the book is rich in substance and the author has covered multiple dynamics of choices that Pakistan made in steering its nuclear programme to the existing direction.”

The launch ceremony also featured reviews by eminent scholars Dr. Christine Leah, visiting fellow at CISS, Dr. Askari Rizvi, Ambassador Tariq Osman Haider, Ejaz Haider, and Dr. Rabia Akhtar.

Dr. Leah observed that the biggest strength of Dr. Salik’s work was his personal experience of working with the nuclear programme. She said it could help address the concerns in the West about the security aspect of the programme. “It should be source of reassurance for Western security scholars and practitioners in the field of nuclear security. It is a very important message for people having negative views about Pakistan”.

Dr Akhtar said, “Despite challenges of political instability and unrest, Pakistan manages, somehow, to effectively control its nuclear arsenal. Therefore, this story about Pakistan must be told.”

Defence analyst Ejaz Haider said the book provides an overview of what Pakistan has done after 1998 tests and helps to comprehend the nuclear-related developments that occurred during this period.

Ambassador Osman explained the importance of nukes to Pakistan’s security paradigm and said Dr. Salik’s book tells how the nuclear programme progressed and how Pakistan learnt to be a responsible nuclear state.

“The book is a kind of analysis about whether Pakistan can be described as a responsible nuclear power and comes out with the conclusion that Pakistan is indeed a responsible nuclear state,” Dr. Rizvi noted.