Pakistan Accuses India of Exceeding Its Legitimate Defence Needs

Pakistan said New Delhi’s buildup of advanced weapons would negatively impact strategic stability in South Asia.

Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal. 

(Photo courtesy: Twitter/@ForeignOfficePk)

Pakistan on Thursday, 25 January, accused India of exceeding its legitimate defence needs and said New Delhi's buildup of advanced weapons would negatively impact strategic stability in South Asia and beyond.

Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Mohammad Faisal said there was a clear disconnect between India's declared policy of restraint and its relentless pursuit of an ambitious missile programme.

He alleged that the development of Agni V intercontinental ballistic missile showed India's real designs of pursuing hegemony. He termed it an "exercise in power projection".

While every state has a right to its security, the buildup of sophisticated and advanced weapons and delivery systems by India far exceeds its legitimate defence needs. 

Mohammad Faisal 

"Seen in the backdrop of other acquisitions of advanced capabilities in both the conventional and non-conventional domains, these developments will negatively impact strategic stability in the South Asian region and beyond," he added.

Faisal said Pakistan will continue to adhere to a policy of restraint and a responsible defence posture but will also take steps to ensure its defence.

He also said Pakistan believed in a peaceful neighbourhood, which is essential for peace and development.

He said that cooperation instead of conflict was the only way forward but it should be reciprocated by actions and not words.

To a question about sharing of test reports of the shoes of Indian prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife, he said, "The report will be shared at an appropriate time."

Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April.

India had hit out at Pakistan for the way it treated the wife and mother of Jadhav when they met him in Pakistan on 25 December.

He also accused India of launching a malicious propaganda campaign against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

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