LAHORE, Sept 29: A former army chief says Pakistan is being ‘encircled’ by the United State, India, Nato and the European Union under a well thought-out plan, and calls upon the Islamic Republic to review its defence and foreign policies to deal with the challenges ahead.

Gen Mirza Aslam Beg said agreements signed by France and the United States for cooperation with India in the field of nuclear technology had serious implications for Pakistan after which it should work out its options.

“We have to maintain a respectable distance from the United States and achieve greater understanding and cooperation with China, Russia, Iran and other friendly countries of the region to strengthen our national security which is being threatened by the encirclement policy being followed by the US, India, Nato and the European Union,” he said while talking to Dawn on Monday.

He was approached for comments on the implications of cooperation between France and India after a similar agreement between New Delhi and Washington which has just been ratified by the US Congress.

Elaborating his views on reorientation of defence policy, the former army chief said: “It means we have to take into account the Islamic resistance force which is shaping the new world order.”

He said the American designs for global primacy and preeminence had been defeated by the Islamic resistance force, establishing new parameters of global peace and harmony. “Luckily, the centre of gravity of the Islamic resistance is located on our borders with Afghanistan and, therefore, not difficult to integrate it with our defence policy.”

He said the agreement between Paris and New Delhi in the field of nuclear technology was part of an arrangement made with India some four years ago. India and the US, he said, signed an agreement for strategic partnership after which the US declared Afghanistan part of South Asia. After the agreement, he said, India was able to establish a very strong intelligence network in Afghanistan “which works against all countries in its neighbourhood. “This network is supported by CIA, Mossad, the German intelligence MI6, and French intelligence.”

Gen Beg said the impact of the network was being felt by all neighbouring countries in general and Pakistan in particular as the latter was under focus all the time.

He said only last week India and Afghanistan had signed a defence pact according to which India would be deploying some 150,000 troops in Afghanistan by the end of next year.

The former army chief said under the US-India agreement for cooperation in nuclear technology, all 45 countries which are members of the nuclear suppliers group can transfer or engage in transfer of nuclear technology to India. The pact between Paris and New Delhi was in line with that agreement, he said.

“The involvement of the European Union in Afghanistan where the Nato forces are stationed, including French forces, have a very intimate working relationship with India and their designs may be well imagined.”

He said when the strategic agreement was signed between the US and India, and France was also involved in it through Nato, the two declared objectives were very sinister. The first was to contain and curb the rising economic and military power of China, and the second, to contain and curb the rising Islamic extremism in this area.

About the France-India collaboration, Gen Beg said it gave added advantage to India to build at least 40-50 nuclear warheads every year and get access to nuclear technology that had applications in many other areas.

Gen Beg said so far as weapons were concerned, Pakistan would not be at a disadvantage because its policy of nuclear restrain was governed by the logic of minimum credible deterrence.