Pakistan to maintain minimum credible deterrence

Islamabad, July 7 (UNI) Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said his country would maintain a minimum credible deterrence for peace and stability in the region to ensure an uninterrupted economic development of the country.

The official Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Aziz as saying this during a meeting with Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmud Ahmed here last evening.

''The defence needs of the country will always remain our priority and the government will use all resources to modernise the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) so that it stays in a state of readiness,'' he said to the backdrop of a recent approval by the US administration to sell 36 F-16 multirole aircraft to Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan was a peaceful country and had no intention to enter into an arms race.

The chief of Air Staff apprised the Prime Minister of his visits to the US and Turkey which, he said, were aimed at strengthening mutual cooperation. He informed Prime Minister about various steps taken by the PAF to optimise its efficiency.

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