Mohammad Jamil
On 28th May 1998, Pakistan emerged as seventh nuclear state in the world by conducting six nuclear tests at Chaghi, Balochistan, in response to five nuclear tests conducted by India on 11th and 13th May in 1998 at Pokhran. The imperialist powers of the West, USA, Israel and India were not only critical of Pakistan on its historic achievement, but the US had imposed biting sanctions on Pakistan to punish it for having acquired the capability to deter its enemies. On that auspicious day, People of Pakistan had forgotten all their petty differences and party lines and showed a unified and collective national spirit with a firm resolve to live as an independent and sovereign state. It is indeed a deterrent, as more than twice India brought its forces to the borders, but had to withdraw because in the event of war between two nuclear states, there is no concept of the victor and the vanquished.
The US had pressurized Pakistan not to conduct nuclear test, but then Prime Minister and now third time Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, in consultation with his cabinet and military leadership, decided to detonate nuclear devices, disregarding the incentives and defying threats from the sole super power and western countries. After disintegration of Pakistan with the active support, funding and training of Mukti Bahini by India in former East Pakistan, there was a sense of insecurity in Pakistan. It was in this backdrop that the then prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had decided to go nuclear “even if the nation had to eat grass”. However, the credit for consistency in the policy to make an atomic device goes to all the subsequent governments General Zia-ul-Haq, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif’s government who continued with the nuclear program despite threats.
After India conducted five nuclear tests in 1998, Indian leadership had started flexing muscles and vowed to take Azad Kashmir from Pakistan on the pretext that Azad Kashmir and not Indian Held Kashmir was a disputed territory, and the dispute was to be resolved through bilateral negotiations. India has been refusing to implement the UNSC resolution of January 1949 that gave Kashmiris the right of self-determination. On 28th May 1998, Pakistan gave its enemies the message loud and clear that Pakistan can retaliate with full force to destroy them. There was consensus that despite pressure from international community, Pakistan must conduct nuclear tests to show that Pakistan would not be intimated and brook no nonsense. Pakistan also declared its policy of first use option. The US and the West were opposed to Pakistan’s nuclear tests. Instead of criticizing India, they tried to pressurize Pakistan not to conduct nuclear tests.
It was America, which in 2005 started negotiating a ‘civil-nuclear deal’ with India, which was later concluded. Civil-nuclear term is a misnomer because in reality it has military connotations. The mere fact that it had extracted fissionable material for its first nuclear bomb testing in 1974 from its Cirus reactor was enough to condemn and punish India. The Indians were committed to use this facility only for peaceful purposes, but were clandestinely employing it for bomb making. Canada had therefore rescinded the agreement with India at that time; however after the US signed civil-nuclear agreement with India, Canada and other European countries are also in the run to benefit from India’s shopping spree, which has allocated tens of billions of dollar for its defence. The US double standards are obvious, as it has so far refused to sign similar agreement with Pakistan. Having that said; the fact remains that Pakistan is now an atomic power, and its people and armed forces have the ability to meet any challenge posed by internal and external enemies of Pakistan. And they have the capability and the will to defend the integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan. Indeed, Pakistan has all the ingredients to make it a modern welfare state. It has industrious people, vast areas of land, variegated seasons suitable for various crops and fruits, rivers, large coastline and abundant natural resources. Its mountains and valleys are the most scenic in the world. Its strategic position, which is confluence and meeting point between Sinkiang of China, Iran and Central Asian Republics, cannot be over-emphasized. Its principle city-port Karachi is a convenient route for Central Asian States. Last week, India and Iran concluded an agreement for development of Chabahar port, but Iran should tread with care, as India has the habit of backstabbing its friends.
Because of its strategic location, development of Gwadar Port, and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), efforts are being made by the rivaling eyes to sabotage those projects. Pakistan is faced with challenge to its external security due to a hostile neighbor; therefore it was important that Pakistan should develop nukes to frustrate her designs. Since big powers wish to have the monopoly of nuclear devices they do not have moral high authority to tell other countries not to produce atomic bombs especially when they are being threatened by hegemonic regional and world powers. The problem is that the US – the sole super power – has double standards, one for its strategic partners and the other one for rest of the world. Israel is an undeclared atomic power yet America would not like to see Iran or any Arab country develop nukes to meet the challenges from it. The US, disregarding the international covenants, itself entered into a civil nuclear agreement whereby India would enjoy all the benefits accruing to a state having signed Non-Proliferation Treaty. This has disturbed the balance of power in South Asia. At the time of concluding agreement with the US, India had conveyed an impression that further nuclear tests would not be necessary, yet it started paving the way to conduct such tests by questioning the effectiveness of its nuclear weapons. India may spend billions on its arsenal but cannot harm Pakistan, as its defence has become impregnable now. Although Pakistan is passing through crucial phase of its history and faces many challenges; yet, given the visionary leadership, its intelligent, hard working and brave people are capable of making Pakistan a developed country, which can find a respectable place in the comity of nations.
