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Pak. nuclear arms authority meets

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD May 7. Hours before the arrival of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, presided over a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA), the body entrusted with the task of development and deployment of nuclear weapons, and declared that "minimum deterrence" is the cornerstone of Pakistan's nuclear policy.

The Pakistan's chain of nuclear command was established in February 2000 and originally it was envisaged that the Prime Minister would be its Chairman. It had functioned under the leadership of Gen. Musharraf during the military rule and the regulations were changed to ensure his continuation.

The Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, who attended today's meeting has been inducted as Vice-Chairman of the Authority. The Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri, and the three service chiefs are the other members of the strategic division.

It is immediately not clear as to what prompted Gen. Musharraf to convene the meeting of the NCA at this juncture. Officially, it was explained that the Strategic Planning Division gave the NCA members a presentation on the plans. There was no elaboration on the plans.

One interpretation over today's meeting is that the Pakistani establishment would like to reassure the international community in general and the U.S. in particular about the `soundness' of its nuclear command and control structure.

There have been speculative reports in the western media about cooperation between Pakistan and North Korea in the nuclear field.

Islamabad has vehemently denied such reports and blamed `vested interests' of spreading rumours to defame Pakistan.

Pakistan has repeatedly declared that the structures, which have been in place for the last four years, were well conceived, elaborate and mature. "The National Command Authority has ensured that while our nuclear assets and strategic forces were completely safe and secure, they continue to develop as per our Minimum Deterrence needs,'' Mr. Jamali had told the last meeting.

An official announcement said the members were given a detailed briefing at a special session of the National Command Authority, located in Rawalpindi in the military headquarters, held in the morning at the Strategic Plans Division, the secretariat of authority.

An official statement said on the meeting that Pakistan was not in any arms race with anyone but reiterated firmly that retention of "minimum deterrence'' was a cornerstone of Pakistan's National Security Policy.

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