Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar Thursday said the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) will not affect Pakistan's "inherent right" to conduct more nuclear tests if necessary.

"If India conducts another nuclear explosion before the CTBT enters into force, nothing in or outside can foreclose Pakistan's right to do the same, whether it has signed the treaty or not," Sattar said here at a seminar on Pakistan's response to Indian nuclear doctrine.

After the treaty enters into force, India's more nuclear tests will explode the treaty itself and, according to certain provision of the treaty, Pakistan can withdraw form the treaty when such an "extraordinary event" happens, he further stated.

The foreign minister said minimum nuclear deterrence will remain the guiding principle of Pakistan's nuclear strategy, but at the same time he hinted that the deterrence shall be sufficient.

"The minimum cannot be quantified in static numbers. The Indian

build-up will necessitate review and reassessment," he noted.

"In order to ensure the survivability and credibility of the

deterrence, Pakistan will have to maintain, preserve and upgrade its capability," he added.

However, Sattar reiterated that Pakistan will not engage in nuclear competition or arms race with India. "The Chief Executive, General Pervaiz Musharraf, declared on October 17 that his government will pursue a policy of restraint and responsibility," he recalled.

Furthermore, the foreign minister said Pakistan is still in favor of the CTBT, which it failed to sign, and will continue its efforts for reducing nuclear dangers in South Asia.

Out of the 44 states that possess nuclear weapons or have nuclear plants, Pakistan is one of the only three countries that haven't yet signed the treaty. The other two are India and North Korea.

The treaty will take effect only after all the 44 countries sign and ratify it. Twenty six countries have ratified the treaty but the two main nuclear powers -- the United States and Russia -- have not.

"We did not sign the CTBT only because India's opposition to the treaty raised suspicions about its intention," Sattar said, adding that the apprehension proved to be correct by India's nuclear tests in May last year.

Despite enormous pressure from the U.S. and other countries, Pakistan conducted tests in the same month as a tit-for-tat response to India's tests.

Deposed Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee had both agreed to sign the CTBT

by September this year, but the collapse of the Vajpayee government has made signing the treaty out of the agenda of both countries.

The Congress of the United States vetoed the proposal of ratifying the CTBT last month, which has further pushed the treaty into a mare of uncertainty.

The new Pakistani government led by General Musharraf, who led a coup on October 12 and dismissed the Sharif government, has no intention to take a precipitate decision on the CTBT, Sattar noted.

"On a policy issue as important as the CTBT, domestic consensus is obviously a prerequisite," he added.

The foreign minister also disclosed that Pakistan has agreed to

participate in negotiations on the proposed Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT).

"Our predisposition is favorable" in regard with the FMCT, he

said. (Xinhua)