Pak nuclear assets are safe and well protected: Wajid Shamsul Hasan

LONDON: Debunking Western media propaganda, Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK has asserted that his country's nuclear assets are in safe hands and well protected under control and command structure.

Appearing in the BBC Newsnight programme Friday evening, he said "International Atomic Energy Agency, NATO, Americans, CIA and other organisations have certified that Pakistani nuclear weapons are in safe hands.

They are secure and are not easily accessible." He appeared in the programme in the wake of reports in the American and western media that US has plans to take pre-emptive action to stop extremists from getting hands on Pakistan nuclear assets.

Responding to a question that Pakistan is reportedly adding 10 to 15 warheads to its nuclear arsenal, the top diplomat termed it as fictional script adding that he had no information on the number of nuclear weapons Pakistan has or is adding any significant weapons annually.c When asked that Jihadists talk about Islamic bomb, the High Commissioner categorically stated that he would not allude to such a suggestion.

"This is a Pakistani bomb and we do not take Jihadists seriously as they say so many things." Hasan said IAEA which is the international watch dog authority on nuclear has already certified that Pakistan is safe and one should not dispute that.

Regarding attack on Mehran base last month which the questioner attributed to security inadequacies, the high commissioner responded that 9/11 attacks, 7/7 bombings in London, and similar incidents in other places around the globe would also fall in the same category. The High Commissioner also asserted that US-Pakistan relations have not worsened contrary to what is appearing in the international media.

He said the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was recently in Pakistan and she was happy and satisfied with the relations between Washington and Islamabad. "Even when President Obama was in London recently he was told by the British Prime Minister David Cameron that enemy of Pakistan is our enemy. So when President Zardari met Mr.Cameron on Friday, the British Prime Minister said Pakistan's future is Britains future."

Hasan said the nuclear weapons are the national assets of Pakistan which each and every Pakistani including the armed forces would protect it come what may. Responding to another question, he said Pakistan has sought drones from US so that it could use them instead of Americans using Pakistani space for attacks on militants in the tribal region.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011