Islamabad: Pakistan has expressed serious concern over the supply of conventional weapons to India, saying it is fueling instability in South Asia.
Pakistan’s permanent to representative to United Nations Khalil Hashmi while addressing the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee said “The policy of double standards towards South Asia, based on narrow strategic, political and commercial considerations, must be eschewed.”
At the same time, Ambassador Hashmi said that Pakistan is committed to the establishment of strategic stability in South Asia, which includes an element of conventional force balance.
“Pakistani envoy said during a thematic debate on conventional weapons in New York, “Pakistan neither wants nor is it evident in South Asia where one state’s military spending vastly outnumbers that of all others,” Ambassador Hashmi said, without naming India. “The generous supply of conventional weaponry to this state, together with its strategic capabilities, is fueling instability, jeopardizing the delicate regional balance, hindering the resolution of longstanding disputes, reinforcing its sense of impunity and hegemonic designs and impeding the realization of durable peace and sustainable development in the region.”
The situation was further exacerbated by the increasing sophistication in and growing integration of artificial intelligence into conventional weaponry, with global military expenditures exceeding cold war levels crossing.
Pakistan wanted to avoid an arms race, it would not compromise on its security interests and the imperative of maintaining a credible minimum nuclear deterrence. The relentless pursuit of military preponderance will have severe consequences for peace and security in South Asia as well as for the Indian Ocean region. Web Desk
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