Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has categorically said Pakistan will neither give up its nuclear capability nor would transfer the sensitive technology to others.
Nuclear capability guarantees national security and its retention is a matter of survival for Pakistan hence there is no question of accepting any pressure on this count, he said in a wide-ranging interview with PTV Prime here late on Friday.
Sheikh Rashid was here on a brief stopover enroute to Washington where he would have a breakfast meeting with US President George W. Bush and would also meet the media to present country's viewpoint on the current important national and international issues.
He said the investigation against nuclear scientists was not started by the government on its own, he said all scientists were very revered in eyes of the government.
But Pakistan as a responsible nuclear state has to take certain steps to probe some nuclear scientists following the reservations expressed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about nuclear proliferation.
He said the "debriefing" of nuclear scientist was almost complete and the requisite information had already been gathered from them. Of the 11 scientists and other staff, he said, only one or two might be kept in custody while the rest would be set free on conclusion of the probe.
Sheikh Rashid was confident that the country would come out unharmed from the current difficult situation and the issue would be wrapped up in a wise and honourable manner in a couple of days.
The country was passing through a very critical time therefore wisdom was required to handle the situation.
Domestic media is giving it more hype than the foreign media as the former had noting else to report on, as the issue of Legal Framework Order (LFO) had been resolved.
However he said no one was larger than the interests and ideals of the country and if some one had done something on the personal basis, the government now possessed the relevant information in this regard.
Fielding another question on the nuclear material flown from Libya to the US recently, the minister said Pakistan had nothing to do with it.
To a question on the clandestine dealing in the nuclear field in the world, he regretted that no Western media talked of UK, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, Holland but had kept its gaze on Pakistan alone.
Replying another question, he said no power on earth could cast a bad eye on the country's integrity. He brushed aside the possibility of handing over any nuclear scientist to a foreign power, saying, this was out of question.
Being a nuclear state the country would fulfil its obligations to show to the international community that sensitive technology was in safe hands. He said if there were some leakages these holes had to be plugged and assured the international community that Pakistan was committed not to transfer the sensitive technology.
Answering a question on the latest claim of Chicago Tribune that American troops would launch an operation against al Qaeda inside territory of Pakistan he rebutted the news, billing it as false.
Pakistan is competent and capable of carrying out operation against the al Qaeda and had sent in its troops in the tribal areas to beef up its human intelligence. The "Angor Adda" operation was conducted by Pakistan Army, he said.