Pakistan on Saturday reiterated its strong opposition to the arms race in South Asia and said it was pursuing a "security strategy" to secure "national integrity, solidarity and economic sovereignty." "We are opposed to the arms race in the region and our strategic capability is sufficient to meet current and future challenges," Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said while speaking to graduating cadets of the Pakistan army in Abbotabad, some 50 kilometres north of Islamabad, DPA reported. He said peace is achieved through strength and not weakness and as a responsible nuclear weapons state, Pakistan adheres to the "doctrine of minimum credible deterrence." "Pakistan has also developed a strong command and control structure to protect its strategic assets," Aziz said, referring to the National Command Authority (NCA), which was formed in March 2000 to check any unauthorized use or proliferation of nuclear and missile technology. Prime Minister Aziz linked establishment of a durable peace in South Asia with settlement of the dispute between India and Pakistan over the disputed Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. "All of us need to demonstrate courage, flexibility, magnanimity and above all passion for solution of the Kashmir issue," Aziz added.
