Islamabad: Pakistan expressed concern on Wednesday about a "massive" buildup of arms by old rival India, warning that it could jeopardise a regional balance.
The statement by the National Command Authority (NCA), which oversees Pakistan's nuclear weapons, came a day after Russian and Indian officials announced that Russia would lease its new Nerpa nuclear-powered submarine to India this year.
Relations between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have been strained since Pakistan-based terrorists raided Mumbai in November 2008, killing 166 people.
Recent reported remarks by Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor that his country was capable of fighting Pakistan and China at the same time, raised alarm in Pakistan.
The NCA said while Pakistan wanted to avoid an arms race, it would not compromise on its security interests and the imperative of maintaining a credible minimum nuclear deterrence.
"Massive inductions of advanced weapon systems including installation of ABMs (anti-ballistic missiles), build-up of nuclear arsenal and delivery systems ... tend to destabilise the regional balance," the NCA said in a statement.
"This relentless pursuit of military preponderance will have severe consequences for peace and security in South Asia as well as for the Indian Ocean region. Pakistan cannot be oblivious to these developments," it said.
The Indian Army Chief was also reported to have said in his recent remarks that India was capable of conducting conventional military strikes "under a nuclear umbrella".
"Such irresponsible statements reflected a hegemonic mindset, oblivious of dangerous implications of adventurism in a nuclearised context," said the NCA, which is headed by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
Pakistan tested nuclear devices in 1998 in response to tests by India.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, since their independence from British rule in 1947.
Their relations improved after they launched a peace process in early 2004. But India suspended the peace process after the Mumbai assault.
Pakistan and Indian leaders and senior officials have met several times on the sidelines of international gatherings but New Delhi insists Pakistan must take forceful action against militants before talks are resumed.
Analysts say al Qaeda and its Islamist terrorist allies want to provoke confrontation between India and Pakistan which would force Pakistan to withdraw troops form its western border and deploy them on the eastern frontier with India.
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