Islamabad : Pakistan Thursday said again that it would not accept any US action inside its territory and would make every effort to maintain nuclear parity in South Asia.
“Any US action inside Pakistani territory is unacceptable,” Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said while winding up a four-day debate on Pakistan’s foreign policy in the National Assembly.
Kasuri rebuffed allegations that Pakistan was a safe haven for terrorists and insisted that they were on the run.
He said that any counter-terrorism measures inside the territory would be carried out by Pakistani troops who he said were capable of dealing with any untoward situation. He also emphasised the importance of sharing concrete and actionable intelligence.
Commenting on the US-India nuclear deal, Kasuri reiterated Pakistan’s principled position of a criteria-based approach.
“It would not be helpful to the shared objectives of stability in South Asia and global non-proliferation regime,” Kasuri said.
He said the deal would have implications on strategic balance in the region, as it would enable India to produce significant quantity of fissile material from un-safeguarded nuclear reactors.
“Pakistan will not accept any discriminatory treatment and (wants) nuclear suppliers group member states to take account of Pakistan’s growing energy needs,” Kasuri said.
“We will take every step to maintain nuclear parity in South Asia through our indigenous human and material infrastructure,” the foreign minister said.