India’s missile program has wider ambitions: Pak official

A senior Pakistani defence official on Thursday claimed that India’s long-range missile development reflected ambitions extending beyond South Asia.

Adviser to National Command Authority, Lt Gen (retd) Mazhar Jamil, made the comments while addressing a seminar on Pakistan’s nuclear weapon program organised by the Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS).

“The trajectory of India’s strategic forces program, including its intercontinental range missile systems, is not oriented solely toward Pakistan or China. It is oriented toward establishing India as a global nuclear power capable of threatening major Western capitals,” Gen Jamil, a former director general of the Strategic Plans Division, claimed.

He asked Western Governments to take notice of India’s military modernisation.

Jamil also said that Pakistan’s restraint during the May conflict with India was “a deliberate and considered choice.” He warned that any future military action would draw a “decisive and comprehensive” response.

In his opening remarks, CISS Executive Director Ali Sarwar Naqvi said Pakistan’s nuclear capability had helped maintain “deterrence stability” in South Asia and “prevented a large-scale war”.