Interaction with French Delegation

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On 11^th June Mr. Nicholas Roche (Director for Strategic Affairs at the French Atomic Energy Agency) and H.E Francois Richier, Ambassador of France to India, accompanied by other members of the Embassy staff visited the VIF to deliberate on Pakistan’s Tactical Nuclear Weapons, French experience of counter-terrorist operations in Mali and Libya and for exchanging of views on French Defence Institutional organizations.

VIF Director Gen. (Retd) NC Vij while welcoming the French delegation pointed out that Pakistan’s stance on its tactical nuclear weapons not only posed threat to the region but the international community also. H.E Francois Richier linked the present discussions as a carryover from the previous interaction with the VIF which was very useful. Mr. Nicholas Roche gave a detailed presentation on his views about the complications and threats posed by Pakistan’s proclivity towards use of tactical nuclear weapons. He stressed that the main dilemma is how to calibrate your response so that nuclear threshold is not crossed. He opined that there is wide range of political, diplomatic and military options that could be presented to the leadership. He also agreed that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons including the tactical weapons and their security are not only a regional concern but would also impact global security. In the second part of his presentation, he narrated the operations by French Defence Forces in Mali and Libya and explained the factors which contributed to its success. Integrating political efforts, military and diplomatic options, he said, were critical to success. He also analysed the French defence organization and briefed the VIF faculty on how the French were handling the defence affairs and institutions.

The VIF faculty members posed a number of questions and discussed, particularly Pakistan’s Tactical Nuclear Weapons, the likelihood and scenarios when they might be used and the likely responses.