By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Advisor to National Command Authority (NCA) and former Director General Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Lieutenant General (R) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai on Tuesday at a lecture to commemorate Youm-e-Takbeer here said that the Indian armed forces were feeling handicapped in the past few decades due to Pakistan’s full spectrum defence capabilities.
The Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) as part of its distinguished lecture series organised the seminar titled “Celebrating Youm-e-Takbeer Evolution of Pakistan’s Full Spectrum Deterrence Policy” where the NCA Advisor was the guest speaker. Lieutenant General (R) Khalid Kidwai said the full spectrum deterrence capabilities which was the combination of the conventional and most modern technology-based weapons capable to respond all threats from the enemy. He added that the full spectrum deterrence helped in restoring the strategic balance of power that enforced peace in the region.
“In the past few decades, the robust nuclear capability of Pakistan has enforced peace in the region. Pakistan does not adhere to the policy of no first use,” he said.
General (R) Kidwai explained that the nuclear programme of Pakistan was clearly divided into two periods; first from 1970s till 1999, the completion, and the second from 2000s till date that involved great political leadership and diplomatic efforts to protect it.
The work in the second era was taken forward from converting it into an operationalised capability based on different weapons to attain minimum credible nuclear deterrence, whereas with a variety of ballistic missiles the entire horizon of missiles was covered horizontally and vertically from 2011 under the strategic, operational and tactical cores of nuclear weapons, he added.
“The reality of nuclear deterrence is proven from the fact that in February 2019 the world community and India and Pakistan moved consciously on the ladder of escalation. Pakistan’s confidence in retaliation to the Indian strike was out of the full spectrum deterrence,” The NCA Advisor said.
“We need to learn living with tactical operations along the line of control with increasing intensity, whereas India’s military doctrines have been compelled to align with Pakistan’s full spectrum deterrence,” he said.
He mentioned that the cold start doctrine got mild after first NASR missile test in 2011, whereas it was a folly to ignore nuclear capability of Pakistan as it has no first use policy and Indian leadership would have to think about it. Responding to media queries, he said the Indian capabilities have eroded over the time as from its primitive ambition of dismembering Pakistan, it had been reduced to so-called surgical strikes and border skirmishes.
President, IPRI, Ambassador (R) Raza Muhammad in his opening remarks lauded the services of the NCA Advisor to the nation particularly towards founding the National Command Authority and SPD.
He added that it was after the 1971 dismemberment of Pakistan that the then leadership decided to build nuclear power which was a long journey towards one of the strongest nuclear programmes with all kinds of deterrence. He added that the country had entered the full deterrence spectrum to counter all enemy strategies.
The President IPRI while extending vote of thanks commended General (R) Kidwai for his thoughtful lecture that reconstituted confidence among the participants on the country’s nuclear deterrence.
