By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared Thursday that Pakistan “harbors no aggressive intentions” against any country as the nation observed the 28th anniversary of its nuclear tests, a milestone that transformed it into the world’s newest declared atomic power and reshaped the balance of terror in South Asia.
In a message released on Youm-e-Takbeer, the annual commemoration of the 1998 tests, Sharif described the day as “a defining moment in Pakistan’s history when the entire nation demonstrated unwavering resolve, national unity, and extraordinary courage by emerging as a nuclear power.” He added: “We have made it unequivocally clear to the world that Pakistan harbors no aggressive intentions; however, we fully reserve the right to defend our homeland.”
The anniversary arrived against a backdrop of renewed friction with India, Pakistan’s larger neighbour and nuclear rival. The two countries fought a four-day military conflict last May, the latest flare-up in a relationship scarred by three full-scale wars since independence in 1947, two of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. India conducted its own nuclear tests earlier in May 1998; Pakistan responded with six underground detonations on May 28 in the Chagai Hills of Balochistan province, an event that Islamabad has portrayed ever since as the restoration of strategic parity.
Pakistan began its nuclear quest in earnest after the 1971 war that led to the secession of East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh. Successive governments in Islamabad have viewed atomic weapons as the essential equalizer against India’s overwhelming conventional military superiority. India, for its part, regards its own arsenal as a deterrent not only against Pakistan but also against China, which defeated Indian forces in a 1962 border war.
Both nations paid a price for crossing the nuclear threshold. International sanctions followed the 1998 tests. India later won de facto acceptance as a nuclear state through a landmark civil nuclear agreement with the United States. Neither country has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Today, Pakistan’s arsenal is estimated at about 170 warheads, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The weapons can be delivered by aircraft or missiles. The program is controlled by the army and managed day-to-day by the Strategic Plans Division.
Pakistan’s top military leadership used the occasion to echo the prime minister’s message of defensive resolve. In a joint statement issued through the Inter-Services Public Relations, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir — who serves as both chief of army staff and chief of defense staff — joined Adm. Naveed Ashraf, the naval chief, and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, the air chief, in congratulating the nation. “Pakistan’s strategic capability remains a sacred national trust and a guarantor of peace, stability, territorial integrity and credible deterrence in the region,” the statement said.
The commanders described Youm-e-Takbeer as commemorating “the historic achievement of May 28, 1998, when Pakistan emerged as a nuclear power and restored the strategic balance in South Asia.” They called the tests “a testament to the visionary leadership of the country, the remarkable contributions of scientists and engineers, and the sacrifices rendered by the armed forces and the people of Pakistan.”
The military leadership, which has always exercised tight control over the nuclear program, reaffirmed its “unwavering commitment to safeguard the country from all challenges.” Bowing “in humility to the Almighty,” the statement said, “the Pakistani nation renews its pledge of unity, vigilance, resilience and dedication for a stronger and prosperous Pakistan.”
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