Parrikar's nuclear comment amounts to nothing: Pakistan

Pakistan has said Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's recent statement on no-first-use of nuclear weapons "amounts to nothing".

Islamabad, Nov 18: Pakistan has said Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's recent statement on no-first-use of nuclear weapons "amounts to nothing".

"Pakistan believes the ambiguous 'no-first-use' declaration is not verifiable and amounts to nothing. It can't be a substitute for verifiable arms control and restraint measures proposed by Pakistan's standing offer of Strategic Restraint Regime," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said in the statement.

Zakaria said the statement of a minister of a country that "repeatedly and constantly heightens tension with an aggressive posture" should be a matter of concern not just for countries in the region but also a threat to global peace and security.

Parrikar had said that he personally believed India should not "bind" itself to a no-first-use nuclear policy.

--IANS

ahm/sar/vt