New York, Sept 13: President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that India was engaged in the most significant nuclear build-up of the post-Cold War era by deploying nuclear forces.

Addressing a gathering at Asia Society in New York, the president said: “The semi-official nuclear doctrine announced by India envisages a triad of operationally deployed nuclear forces. This process is well under way in India and will lead to a new level of nuclear escalation in the region.”

He stated that India’s profession of no first use of nuclear weapons carried no credibility “when in fact it intends to engage in the most significant nuclear build-up of the post-Cold War era.” It constituted the biggest affront to the global trend of reducing and eventually eliminating reliance on nuclear weapons, he added.

The president remarked that Pakistan did not wish to enter into an arms race, nuclear or conventional, with India.

He was of the view that the nuclearization of South Asia imposed a great responsibility on India and Pakistan to resolve their dispute peacefully and act with maturity and circumspection.

“We will continue to pursue nuclear restraint testing and our commitment not to be the first to resume testing. We will pursue a policy of maintaining credible deterrence at the minimum level.”

President Musharraf said his country had established the most stringent controls over its strategic assets. “There is no danger of any leakage or proliferation.”

He observed that it was also important to contain the conventional force levels in South Asia. “While we realize the need to reduce defence expenditure and divert resources towards social and economic development, we are compelled to maintain a minimum deterrence level of defence capability.”