|
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan's
indigenously produced Hatf-III (Ghaznavi) Ballistic Missile
System was handed-over to the Army's Strategic Force Command
by President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday.
The solid fuel Ghaznavi Ballistic Missile System, which has a
range of 290 km, was successfully test fired in 2002 and 2003
with excellent results.
It now forms an integral
component of Pakistan's operational deterrence systems, which
also include the Shaheen series and Ghauri intermediate range
missiles, besides the Pakistan Air Force.
The ceremony was attended by
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Services Chiefs and
senior military officers and scientists.
'Nuclear Programme to Stay'
Speaking at the impressing ceremony, President Pervez
Musharraf strongly reiterated that Pakistan's nuclear
programme was here to stay and being vital national security
interest would never be compromised. He said far from any
misplaced notion of a roll back, Pakistan would continue to
develop its capability in line with its minimum deterrence
needs.
The President pointed out
that in the past four years, a large number of missile tests
of different systems as well as their handing over to the
strategic missile groups amply demonstrated Government's
resolve to consolidate and strengthen nuclear deterrence.
Call to Nation
General Musharraf urged the nation to come out of the mind set
of 80s when our nuclear programme was in its infancy and could
be threatened with the roll back.
"Today, Pakistan, by the Grace of Allah, was an acknowledged
and established nuclear power", the President said.
...Louder than Words
The President said that his actions spoke louder than words
and in the last four years, large number of missile tests of
different systems as well as handing over of these systems to
the respective Strategic Missile Groups amply demonstrated his
government's resolve to consolidate and strengthen Pakistan's
nuclear deterrence.
Tributes to Scientists
The President paid glowing tributes to the scientists,
engineers and technicians who had made the nation proud by
their dedicated and professional hard work.
"By their singular
achievements they had forged a strong indigenous capability,
which had resulted in very substantial savings", he commended.
The President laid strong
emphasis on the need to further enhance security by drawing
appropriate lessons from the unfortunate events of past
proliferation.
He highlighted that since
the establishment of institutionalized command and control
systems in the last four years, adequate checks and balances
had been put in place to prevent the recurrence of such
lapses.
Additional restructuring was
being undertaken to further modernize the security system
around our strategic assets, the President said.
Problem of Proliferation
President Gen Musharraf said Pakistan fully shared
international concerns on proliferation and reiterated
country's resolve to ensure that there will never be any type
of proliferation from its soil.
He said that Pakistan will
continue to cooperate with IAEA in its efforts to uproot
international proliferation networks.
Musharraf said "our state
policy is very clear. Pakistan's nuclear capability is for the
sole purpose of deterrence of aggression against Pakistan and
for the defence of our sovereignty."
Assurance to IAEA
Pakistan, as a state, never has and never will proliferate its
hard earned nuclear technology to any other country.
What unfortunately happened
in the past, from 1989 to 1999, were individual actions based
on personal greed and gross misuse of autonomy and authority,
it was a betrayal of the nation's trust, it was compounded by
an ineffective and inefficient security system, and an absence
of institutionalized oversight.
These individuals were
subverted from within. Nevertheless, this aberration too was
checked when institutional arrangements were put in place in
2000. He assured the world that the network had been uprooted
within Pakistan.
| 
![PakistanTimes [PakistanTimes.net]](times2_files/sidelogo.JPG)
