Time to go for more than deterrence: ex-defence secy

ISLAMABAD: Former defence secretary Lt Gen (R) Naeem Khalid Lodhi said that the changing nature of conflict in the region is testing the validity of Pakistan’s belief in having achieved ‘Full Spectrum Deterrence’ through the development of nuclear weapons.

The former defence secretary was speaking at a seminar titled “Revisiting 20 Years of Nuclearization of South Asia: Impact on Regional Politics and Security”, organised by Strategic Vision Institute (SVI) to commemorate the May 1998 nuclear tests, says a press release.

SVI specialises in non-proliferation issues and cautions that the strategic environment in South Asia was becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable due to Indian ambitions of regional hegemony.

“We do not have Full Spectrum Deterrence because nuclear parity or mutual deterrence has pushed the war into another zone, which is ongoing and has not been deterred,” Lodhi said, adding nuclear weapons prevented large scale conventional wars.

Former ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, Zamir Akram pointed to the instability being caused by US patronage of India and Delhi’s hard-line policy on Pakistan.

Lt Gen (R) Talat Masood maintained that it would be naive to assume that nuclear weapons gave Pakistan “full security”.

Former senior Strategic Planning Division official Khalid Banuri argued that nuclear weapons added to Pakistan’s security, but should not be seen as a panacea for all ills.