Indian nuke submarine launch won't affect Pakistan, says Defence Minister

Karachi, July 27 (ANI): Pakistan's Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar on Monday said that the country was under no threatfrom a security point of view despite India announcing the launch of its first indigenously built nuclear submarine.

Mukhtar said that Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself from all sides.

"We don't want war but we are fully prepared to defend ourselves", he said while replying a question about nuclear submarine issue at his press conference here.

"Pakistan's defence is impregnable and the nation fully prepared to defend itself from all sides - land, sea and air", he added.

The government IS ready to face all challenges, Mukhtar said.

Earlier, the Pakistan Navy had expressed concern over India announcing the launch of its first indigenously built nuclear submarine - the INS Arihant (Destroyer of Enemies) -- saying it could trigger off an arms race in South Asia.

The Dawn quoted Pakistan Navy spokesman Captain Asif Majeed Butt as saying that the nuclear-powered submarine would destabilise and jeopardise the security paradigm of the entire Indian Ocean region.

Captain Majeed further warned that its induction into the Indian Navy could trigger a nuclear arms race and all littoral states, including Pakistan, would now be taking steps to safeguard their respective coastlines and territories.

The News quoted Salman Ali, another naval spokesman, as saying that the proposed launch of the Indian nuclear submarine would have far reaching affects not only Pakistan but also Indian Ocean and adjoining coastal countries.

The 6000-tonne submarine will undergo sea trials for two years before being commissioned for full service.

The submarine took eleven years to build, and will also undergo harbour trials for its nuclear reactor and other systems.

The INS Arihant has been built under the Advanced Technology Vessels Programme at a cost of 30,000 crore rupees at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.

With the launch of the submarine, India joins the exclusive club of US, Russia, China, France and the UK who have similar capabilities.

According to sources, the nuclear reactor of the submarine has been developed at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam.

Nuclear submarines are powered by a nuclear reactor, which generates high levels of heat that in turn drive a steam turbine, which rotates the propeller.

The "INS Arihant " is armed with nuclear-tip ballistic missiles. DRDO and BARC scientists described the launching of the nuclear submarine as a historic and challenging achievement.

India used a nuclear submarine leased by Russia from 1988 TO 1991. New Delhi has since signed an agreement with Moscow for the transfer of a couple of nuclear -powered Russian-Akula class submarine, one of which is expected to be inducted by the Navy later this year. (ANI)