Pak going beyond degree of N-deterrence is worrying: Army Chief
September 2nd, 2009 - 4:25 pm ICT by ANIPune,Sep. 2 (ANI): Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor on Wednesday criticized Pakistan for stockpiling nuclear weapons in the name of protection, and said the country is going beyond the degree of deterrence.
“There is a difference between having a degree of deterrence which is required for one’s own protection, and going beyond that degree of deterrence. If news reports of them (Pakistan) having 70-90 atomic bombs are correct then I think they are going well beyond the so-called requirement of deterrence even, that is something which is of concern to all of us,” General Kapoor told reporters here.
On Tuesday, reports of concern expressed by top US defence experts on Pakistan’s secret nuclear expansion has emerged.
In an article published in the latest issue of ‘Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist’, Robert S Norris and Hans Kristensen had claimed that Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile has jumped to an estimated 70-90 warheads from a previous figure of 60.
“A new nuclear-capable ballistic missile is being readied for deployment, and two nuclear capable cruise missiles are under development. Two new plutonium production reactors and a second chemical separation facility also are under construction,” Norris and Kristensen wrote.
Norris is a Senior Research Associate at the Natural Resources Defense Council while Kristensen is Director, Nuclear Information Project at Federation of American Scientists.
“It is equally troublesome to guess what its future plans might be,” the article says.
The report comes amid concerns expressed by the US over illegal modification by Pakistan of US-made Harpoon anti-ship missile, a weapon that could target India. (ANI)
- Pakistan has increased nuke warheads to 90: report - Sep 01, 2009
- Pakistan has bigger nuke arsenal than India: Report - Aug 02, 2010
- India, Pakistan continue to amass nukes: SIPRI - Jun 07, 2011
- Pakistan has more nuclear weapons than India: Report - Nov 18, 2009
- Pak says reports of increase in nuke warheads 'speculative' - Sep 04, 2009
- World media looks at Indian missile through China prism - Apr 20, 2012
- Pakistan test-fires n-capable missile (Second Lead) - Apr 25, 2012
- 5,000-km Agni-V missile propels India into elite club (Afternoon Lead) - Apr 19, 2012
- Pakistan has more nukes than India: Report - Nov 18, 2009
- India not in arms race: DRDO chief - Nov 16, 2011
- Pakistan has 100 n-weapons; edges ahead of India: Report - Jan 31, 2011
- Should India worry about Pakistan's n-arsenal? Experts differ (Lead) - Feb 01, 2011
- Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, a headache for Obama: NYT - Feb 01, 2011
- 'Nuclear-capable Agni-V to be tested soon' - Jan 15, 2012
- Pakistan to become world's fourth-largest nuclear arsenal state by end of decade: Expert - Mar 31, 2011
Tags: atomic bombs, atomic scientist, ballistic missile, chemical separation, chief general, cruise missiles, deepak kapoor, defence experts, deterrence, federation of american scientists, illegal modification, information project, natural resources defense, natural resources defense council, nuclear expansion, nuclear stockpile, nuclear weapons, plutonium production reactors, resources defense council, robert s norris