Dawn
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07:23 Sep 17, 2025
ISLAMABAD: A top adviser to the country’s nuclear command and control body believes that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is what is keeping Indian military designs in check. Speaking at an event organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) on Tuesday, retired Lt Gen Khalid Ahmed Kidwai said that the country’s Full Spectrum Deterrence (FSD) — or minimum credible deterrence — was never compromised during the May standoff with India. Lt Gen Kidwai, an adviser to the country’s National Command Authority (NCA), also noted that the newly-formed Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) will raise the nuclear threshold by providing an additional layer of strategic deterrence between conventional operations and the potential employment of nuclear forces. He explained that the ARFC has merely a response to modern battlefield needs, while the nuclear deterrent remains in place as the ultimate shield against India. A former head of the army’s Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Gen. Kidwai said that Pakistan’s FSD worked i...