Pak going 'beyond nuclear deterrence': Army chief

"It is a matter of concern for us," Kapoor said reacting to an article published in the latest issue of 'Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist' about enhanced nuclear arsenal of Pakistan.

"There were certain degrees of deterrence and the figure of 70-90 nuclear warheads directed against a country certainly goes beyond the concept of deterrence," the army chief said.

In the article, US experts Robert S Norris and Hans Kristensen estimate that Pakistan's nuclear stockpile has jumped to an estimated 70-90 warheads from a previous figure of 60.

"A new nuclear-capable ballistic missile is being readied for deployment, and two nuclear capable cruise missiles are under development. Two new plutonium production reactors and a second chemical separation facility also are under construction," they wrote.

On the Chinese incursions along the border, the army chief said there was no cause for "alarm".

"The level of incursions was the same as it was last year," he said adding that Indian troops also carry out patrolling along the border which "could be perceived differently".

"The basic issue is to resolve the border dispute" Gen Kapoor, who was on a visit to the Artificial Limb Centre of Southern Command here, said noting incursions happened because of that.

Asked about China's denial of Indian air space violation, the army chief said he had already expressed his views on the issue and now he had "no comments" to offer.