By IANS,
Islamabad : Expressing confidence in the operational readiness of its strategic weapons, Pakistan’s National Command Authority (NCA) has vowed to pursue the policy of credible minimum deterrence.
The 19th meeting of the NCA, chaired here by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, reviewed issues of national importance in the regional and global security environment, reported the Associated Press of Pakistan.
The NCA said it was satisfied at the security and safety of Pakistan’s strategic programmes and facilities.
Gilani expressed his government’s firm resolve to protect the country’s strategic and nuclear assets at all costs.
He said: “Our detractors are working over time to malign Pakistan as well as our nuclear and strategic assets.”
“Promoting and protecting national interests of Pakistan is a sacred responsibility and we will never fail in this noble duty,” he was quoted as saying.
The prime minister said the incidents in Abbottabad and the Mehran naval base had raised concerns on the safety and security of the country’s strategic assets.
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was gunned down May 2 in Abbottabad by US commandos and the Taliban had retaliated May 22 by launching a massive attack at the key Mehran naval facility in Karachi.
The prime minister said the strategic programme forms the core of Pakistan’s national security paradigm.