WASHINGTON: Pakistan will not raise the nuclear issue in talks with US officials during Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif’s visit next week, diplomatic sources said.

The Indian defence minister will also be in Washington during Gen. Sharif’s visit, the sources added while underlining the importance of regular consultations between US and Pakistani defence officials.

Even if the US side brought up this issue, “Pakistan will politely remind them that it was India’s so-called cold-start doctrine that created the current situation,” one source said.

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Pakistanis argue that under the cold-start doctrine, India has built cantonments and air bases close to the border, and thus has shortened the time for launching an offensive.

This increased Pakistan’s dependence on tactical nuclear weapons to counter an Indian offensive.

Reports in the US media suggest that during Gen. Sharif’s five-day (Nov. 15-20) visit, American officials will urge Pakistan to revise its nuclear policy.

But Pakistan rejected the suggestion, from some unnamed US sources quoted in the media, that Pakistan’s fears of an Indian offensive were unfounded.

“Right now, their 21st corps is busy conducting an exercise in Rajasthan to test this cold-start or pro-active strategy,” said a diplomatic source.

“The nuclear issue is not a bilateral subject,” said the source while explaining why Pakistan did not want to discuss the issue with the Americans. “Our nuclear programme focuses only threats from India and only India can remove the concerns that cause these threats,” the source said.

“Absolutely not, not even a meeting,” the source said when asked if the nuclear issue was on the agenda for Gen. Sharif’s meetings in Washington.

“The focus will be Afghanistan,” said the other source.

The Americans believe that we can play a role in promoting the reconciliation process in Afghanistan and we are ready to play this role.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2015