[sacw] PPC Statement on Indian nuclear doctrine

[Harsh Kapoor]

September 2, 1999
FYI
(SOUTH ASIANS AGAINST NUKES)
-----------------------------------------

30 Aug 1999

Pakistan Peace Coalition National Council Statement
On India's Nuclear Doctrine

BJP government's nuclear doctrine needs to be firmly and purposefully
rejected. It is a bellicose program of unending military build up in
all conceivable fields ranging from conventional armaments to nuclear
weapons through a massive missile development not excluding space
based assets - as it puts it. It is calculated to cause a constantly
accelerating arms race in Asia by it's aggressive, indeed provocative,
language and content.

Indian doctrine talks of a minimal deterrence. But, the conditions it
attaches, makes it in fact a maximal program: it has to be
"effective", "enduring", "diverse", "flexible" and responsive to
changing requirements. Mind you, Indian nuclear forces are to be a
triad of land based missiles, aircraft as well as ship- based
weapons with supporting facilities in space. It seems to make one
pleasing sound: India will not be the first to use the nukes. But,
then goes on to talk menacingly of punitive retaliation that will
inflict a damage on the aggressor that will be unacceptable to it. How
minimal will be India's deterrent is shown by its qualifications: it
has to have a level of nuclear capability that should survive a sneak
attack; it has to be credible, i.e. it should inspire fear in others;
has to be effective; to be underpinned by a will to use all the
available strength in the massive retaliation that is actually
envisaged.

An un-elected caretaker government is wantonly committing India's
people and resources to a course of action that will decrease rather
than enhance India's security. It is already controversial in India
and seems to be designed to enable the rightwing jingoists parties
like BJP, Shiv Sena, VHP to make electoral gains in the forthcoming
September-October elections.

Let Islamabad not rush in reaction to propound a Pakistani nuclear
doctrine that will be much the same in content as the Indian one
except for the provision for first strike right. Let us retain our
poise and balance while we ponder over the issues before committing
the country's resources to ill thought out courses of action .

We Pakistanis have no reason to rush headlong into a reactive arms
race with India, covering all the fields indicated by Indian hawks.
Pakistan has long believed in a nuclear weapons free south Asia. We as
a people remain committed to that objective. We reject the notion that
having been invented and fabricated, nothing can prevent the
deployment of nuclear weapons. So were various killer gases. Just as
gas warfare has been outlawed and all chemical biological and other
mass destruction weapons have been banned by common agreement, so
atomic weapons of all kinds can also be abjured.

We appeal to all sane people in India to undo the mischief of their
rightist war mongerors and join us in the great enterprise of keeping
south Asia free of all mass destruction weapons - as a prelude to
outlawing all such weapons from everywhere through concerted efforts
of the people everywhere.

It remains necessary that Pakistan desists from all arms races and
remains committed to the objective of south Asia becoming wholly free
of all nuclear and other mass destruction weapons.

As a preliminary , Pakistan Should honor its promise of signing CTBT
and cooperate in bringing into being the FMCT in good faith while all
these steps are to be in the spirit and hope of adhering to the NPT.

The double standards of the six earlier nuclear powers is a separate
subject to be tackled by all mankind cooperatively and which certainly
should certainly not be made an excuse for any state's own
nuclearization. End.

Statement issued by Sarah Siddiqi
for the National Council of
Pakistan Peace Coalition
Annexe 141-D,PECHS-2,Karachi 75400
Tel-fax:455-7009,455-2170
emails:
b.m.kutty@c...
karamat@p...
ppc@a...