Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Chairman General Nadeem Raza has reiterated the significance of Pakistan’s nuclear capability as the guarantor of deterrence and defence of the country.

He said this while delivering the keynote address during the seminar on “Regional Environment and Imperatives of Security” at the NUST Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS) in Islamabad, according to a statement issue by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Students, academics and distinguished experts from different parts of the country attended the seminar.

Commenting on the regional security environment, the Chairman JCSC said that Pakistan’s nuclear program enjoys across the board support of all political parties and the people of Pakistan, the statement added.

General Raza, who is also the deputy chairman of the National Command Authority (NCA), said that the NCA with its political and military leadership stands firm behind the strategic programme.

He asserted that national security is indivisible and assured that under no circumstances shall Pakistan allow a compromise on its nuclear programme.

“Pakistan is a confident and responsible nuclear power. It pursues the policy of full spectrum deterrence within the precincts of credible minimum deterrence,” he said. Our national security and safety architecture meets all national and international obligations and caters for all kinds of scenarios.

“As a norm in other nuclear-capable nations, unnecessary and unfounded views on the strategic program should be avoided. When necessary, NCA is the right forum to issue specific responses or views,” he concluded.