Pakistan on Thursday accused India of accumulating a stockpile of nuclear weapons and building a ‘secret nuclear city’, which the Foreign Office claimed threatens to undermine the strategic balance of power in South Asia.
In a weekly briefing, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said India has been testing inter-continental missiles. “Pakistan remains committed to the principles of peaceful existence with all of its neighbours, including India, and the Indian government should reciprocate the steps taken by Pakistan for peace,” he said.
The spokesman also said the LoC violations by Indian forces can threaten regional stability. A similar statement was issued by the Pakistani military on Wednesday after a Corps Commanders meeting to review the situation on the border.
“India is constantly violating ceasefire at the LoC which resulted in the loss of lives of the innocent civilians. Indian belligerence continues to pose threat to the peace in the region, which the international community should take note of,” Mr. Zakaria told reporters.
Mr. Zakaria quoted a report by the Pakistani think tank, Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, which late last year claimed that India had sufficient material and the technical capacity to produce between 356 and 492 nuclear bombs. “There is a fear that the Indian reactors not mandated by the safeguards might be used clandestinely for plutonium production and the existing stockpiles might be diverted to a military programme at a subsequent stage,” said Kamran Akhtar, DG Disarmament at the Foreign Office, who accompanied Zakaria at the press conference.
The spokesman also said Pakistan had repeatedly sought details of probe into the deadly 2007 Samjhota Express bombing but India had not responded.
‘Baseless allegations’
India, however, dismissed the Pakistani allegations as “baseless”.
“These are completely baseless allegations. The so-called secret nuclear city is a figment of Pakistan’s imagination,” said Vikas Swarup, spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, in Delhi. “India has always been in compliance with its international obligations.”
