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- Posting excerpt from the Report of South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI) London, published in 2008.
- Purpose of this thread is to aware the members of the forum with the basics of Pakistan's Nuclear Command Structure.
- Complete report could be downloaded from the following link:
http://www.sassu.org.uk/html/Pakistan Nuclear Command and Control Final.pdf
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Overview of Pakistan's nuclear capability
The details of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons capability and doctrine remain uncertain because of Pakistan’s need to maintain strategic ambiguity. But, Pakistan is estimated to have between 50 and 60 nuclear weapons (comment: as estimated in 2008) and the capability to deliver them either by aircraft (modified F-16s and Mirages) or surface-to-surface missiles. Pakistan has not formally announced any nuclear doctrine. However, statements by senior Pakistani military and government officials suggest that the objective of its nuclear doctrine is to deter all forms of external aggression that could endanger Pakistan’s national security or strategic forces. It is not clear what would constitute a severe enough danger to Pakistan’s national security to trigger the use of nuclear weapons, but a variety of events have been suggested. This threshold could be a loss of a significant part of Pakistani territory, a destruction of a large part of Pakistan’s military, economic strangulation, or social destabilization.
Pakistan believes that it can achieve deterrence against aggression through a combination of conventional and strategic forces.Pakistan has not agreed to a no-first-use but will not use nuclear weapon against non-nuclear weapon states.
Evolution of Pakistan's nuclear command and control system
Since 1975 Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program has been controlled by the National Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) and the National Nuclear Command Committee (NNCC).
Since 1998 Pakistan’s nuclear command and control system has been transformed in four stages with the end result being a mature system.
The system is based on a three-tier structure:
- Purpose of this thread is to aware the members of the forum with the basics of Pakistan's Nuclear Command Structure.
- Complete report could be downloaded from the following link:
http://www.sassu.org.uk/html/Pakistan Nuclear Command and Control Final.pdf
===============================================================
Overview of Pakistan's nuclear capability
The details of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons capability and doctrine remain uncertain because of Pakistan’s need to maintain strategic ambiguity. But, Pakistan is estimated to have between 50 and 60 nuclear weapons (comment: as estimated in 2008) and the capability to deliver them either by aircraft (modified F-16s and Mirages) or surface-to-surface missiles. Pakistan has not formally announced any nuclear doctrine. However, statements by senior Pakistani military and government officials suggest that the objective of its nuclear doctrine is to deter all forms of external aggression that could endanger Pakistan’s national security or strategic forces. It is not clear what would constitute a severe enough danger to Pakistan’s national security to trigger the use of nuclear weapons, but a variety of events have been suggested. This threshold could be a loss of a significant part of Pakistani territory, a destruction of a large part of Pakistan’s military, economic strangulation, or social destabilization.
Pakistan believes that it can achieve deterrence against aggression through a combination of conventional and strategic forces.Pakistan has not agreed to a no-first-use but will not use nuclear weapon against non-nuclear weapon states.
Evolution of Pakistan's nuclear command and control system
Since 1975 Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program has been controlled by the National Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) and the National Nuclear Command Committee (NNCC).
Since 1998 Pakistan’s nuclear command and control system has been transformed in four stages with the end result being a mature system.
- During the first stage (1998–1999) Pakistan started to consider a more institutionalized command and control system.
- During the second stage (2000–2001) Pakistan introduced its first reforms. On 7 February 2000, Pakistan announced a formal chain of command over nuclear weapons. This system was put into operation during 2001.
- During the third stage (2001–2003) Pakistan further strengthened oversight over its nuclear weapons. This was a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which focused international attention on Pakistan and put pressure on Pakistan to secure its nuclear weapons.
- The final phase (2003–present) has been marked by the investigation into the A. Q. Khan nuclear network and related improvements in the command and control system, and export controls.Finally, in December 2007 President Pervez Musharraf transformed the ordinance establishing the system into a law.
The system is based on a three-tier structure:
- The National Command Authority (NCA),
- The Strategic Plans Division (SPD),
- The Three Services’ Strategic Forces Command.
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