“Unnecessary” and “unfounded” views on the country’s nuclear program should be avoided, a senior military official of the Pakistan Army said, in a veiled reference to recent remarks by the country’s former prime minister Imran Khan who has been questioning the ability of the current government to protect the country’s economy and the security.

"Pakistan is a confident and responsible nuclear power…Our national security and safety architecture meets all national and international obligations and caters to all kinds of scenarios," General Nadeem Raza, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, said.

"Unnecessary and unfounded views on the strategic program should be avoided," he said while delivering a speech at a seminar on Regional Environment and Imperatives of Security at the NUST Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS) in Islamabad.

Reza, who is also deputy chairman of the National Command Authority, said that the country’s nuclear program enjoyed across-the-board support from all political parties and the people.

The remark came days after Imran Khan warned of the possibility of the country losing its nuclear deterrence if the current government mismanaged its economy. Since losing power in April, Khan has been questioning the ability of what he calls the “imported government” of protecting the country.

Significantly, Khan, in one of his recent interviews, urged the military to make “rights decisions” to save the country.

“If the establishment doesn't make the right decisions then I can assure [you] in writing that [before everyone else] they and the army will be destroyed because what will become of the country if it goes bankrupt," Khan had said in an interview with Bol news.

"Pakistan is going towards a default. If that happens then which institution will be [worst] hit? The army. After it is hit, what concession will be taken from us?Denuclearisation," Imran Khan said. "If the right decisions aren't made at this time then the country is going towards suicide," he added.

Shehbaz Sharif, the country’s prime minister, also accused Khan of making naked threats against the country. Other leaders of the ruling parties had also condemned Khan.

(SAM)