India May Review ‘No First Use’ Nuke Policy: Defence Minister

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday sought to caution India’s neighbours that the country would not hesitate to have a re-look at its ‘no first use’ policy on nuclear weapons.

The warning coincided with the first death anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Incidentally, the Home Minister said this at Pokhran, Rajasthan where India carried out nuclear tests in 1974 and in than in 1998 under the leadership of Vajpayee.

“It is our firm resolve to make India a nuclear power and yet remain firmly committed to the doctrine of ‘No First Use’. It is true that till now, India has strictly adhered to the ‘No First Use’ policy. What happens in future depends on the circumstances.”

Rajnath’s comments have come at a time when tensions between India and Pakistan have reached a flashpoint.

Deteriorating ties…

Pakistani Primi Minister Imran Khan, on his independence day address to the nation on August 14, claimed that there was “solid information” that India was planning an offensive in PoK.

The Indian armed forces on Friday also accused the neighbour of escalating tension along the border to an alarming level with repeated ceasefire violations. The objective, it said, was to draw international attention to the Kashmir issue.

Experts view…

Media houses reported a few strategic experts who supported the Home Minister’s statement.

Lieutenant General B S Nagpal, the former commander-in-chief of the strategic forces command was quoted by NDTV as saying that the no first use policy was a “formula for disaster”.

Former defence minister, late Manohar Parrikar, was reportedly also in favour of amending the policy, it claimed.