Pakistan warns regional peace in danger after new role given to India by US

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has expressed grave concern with the role US is giving to India in the region, warning it will “only aggravate the situation and endanger the peace and stability in this part of the world.”

“Partnerships and alliances [between the two countries] should not be directed towards other countries. Every country has the right to peaceful development unless it threatens others countries’ peace and security. As far as Indo-US coziness is concerned, it should not be based on agenda of containing China or threatening Pakistan,” Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told reporters at a weekly press briefing.

He also expresses concerned oversupply of armed drones by the US to India, fearing that it could increase the chances of “military misadventures” leading to a conflict in the region.

He said: “Any deviation from established international standards will undermine the objective of non-proliferation by opening up possibilities for diversion of technology intended for peaceful uses to military purposes.”

Mr. Zakaria said Pakistan had consistently maintained that preserving regional stability should be the fundamental consideration in any international arms transfer.”

He said extra-regional powers should be mindful of such actions, which can undermine strategic stability in South Asia. “Use of armed drones can lower the threshold for conflict, since it can encourage military misadventures, especially in the backdrop of irresponsible discourse about limited military operations below the strategic threshold.”

“Use of armed drones can lower the threshold for conflict, since it can encourage military misadventures, especially in the backdrop of irresponsible discourse about limited military operations below the strategic threshold,” Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters here.

He demanded that any transfer of armed drones should also be closely examined in the context of the guidelines of the multilateral export control regimes, including the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which place certain limitations on such transfers.

“We hope that the members of MTCR and other export control regimes fully understand their responsibility in not letting any country’s membership of such groupings constitute a carte blanche for the proliferation of destabilising weapon systems,” he said.

Responding to a question about US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent visit to Islamabad, Mr. Zakaria said that the US side admitted that Pakistan had two troubled borders and the South Asia Strategy would address these issues.