THE firm statement made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Pakistan’s nuclear programme is truly reflective of the aspirations of the people, who see the programme as a firm guarantee against any aggression in the given hostile regional atmosphere and substantive threats to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. The PM termed the imposition of US sanctions on the National Defence Complex (NDC) and other entities as unjustified and declared in unequivocal terms that there would be no compromise on Pakistan’s nuclear programme. In an apparent response to the fallacy that the country’s missile programme could ultimately pose threat to the world including the United States, he underlined that Pakistan has no intentions for aggressive use of the nuclear programme rather it is deterrence and meant for defence of the country and nothing else.
As an elected representative of the people of Pakistan, the Prime Minister has done well by echoing their sentiments and putting across the point of view of the country on this sensitive issue in the right perspective. This is understandable as Muslim League not only has to its credit the very creation of the country but also the challenging decision of making Pakistan a nuclear state. The then Prime Minister, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, was under great pressure following nuclear tests by India in May 1998 – both from people of Pakistan who wanted a tit-for-tat response to offset dangers to the security and defence of the country and the United States and its allies that used all tactics at their disposal to dissuade him from opting the course of nuclear blasts. However, MNS, rejecting the carrot and stick tactics of the United States, made the right decision to detonate the nuclear device, which made the country’s defence impregnable. It is, therefore, no surprise that the Government of the PML(N) should mince no words in responding to false propaganda against the country’s nuclear and missile programmes. As highlighted by the Prime Minister, Pakistan has proven credentials of being a peace-loving country and never hurled threats or carried out aggression against any other country. Its nuclear programme was in response to the extreme aggressive posture adopted by New Delhi after May tests. In fact, the programme was initiated by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the aftermath of Fall of Dhaka, a tragedy caused by naked Indian aggression.
However, despite genuine security threats, Pakistan adopted an open-ended policy on the issue of its nuclear programme and made formal offers on a number of occasions for promotion of the cause of nuclear non-proliferation in South Asia. However, a number of offers made for reciprocal measures to make the region nuclear weapons free zones were rejected by India and the world community has been aiding and assisting New Delhi to sharpen its nuclear and missile teeth despite frequent incidents of proliferation and aggressive designs of India. In this backdrop, the successive leadership of the country and its people made an informed choice to go nuclear to thwart threats to the security. They spared precious resources and offered sacrifices for development of a programme that is paying back. It is because of this that the Prime Minister remarked that not only he himself and the federal cabinet owns the nuclear programme but it also belongs to 240 million people of the country which is dearer to them and close to their heart. There is nothing new as far as the US sanctions against Pakistan’s missile programme are concerned as the country remained under American sanctions during development of its nuclear programme. Such sanctions proved counter-productive before and will meet the same fate now as the missile programme, part of the overall deterrence, is fully backed by the people of Pakistan.
