No foreign assistance in protecting strategic assets: Foreign Office

09 Feb, 2004

Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan on Sunday strongly rejected the contents of an NBC news report carried in a section of the media, suggesting that the US was working to "protect Pakistan's nuclear technology and weapons," saying that this was pure fabrication.
The spokesman clarified that Pakistan and the US have an ongoing, broad-ranging security dialogue, which is held periodically. "There is no physical involvement", he emphatically said.
Masood Khan said Pakistan was protecting its own strategic assets, without any foreign assistance. No assistance had been accepted to protect them, he said. The claim in the report that the US was spending "millions of dollars" to safeguard Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is completely false and baseless.
Likewise, the claim that the two sides are meeting on this matter every two months is also not correct.
A spokesman of ISPR has also termed the news as totally baseless and said that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and is fully capable of defending its assets without any outside help.
The spokesman said that National Command Authority, which was established in February 2000, has shown its complete confidence in the command and control system put in place.
Earlier in an interview with private TV channel, the Foreign Office Spokesman said international community appreciated the way Pakistan has conducted the investigations of the nuclear scientists.
He said America, China, France and other European countries have lauded the steps taken by Pakistan government to address this issue.
It was difficult time for Pakistan, he said and added the country has come out of the crisis successfully.
Masood Khan said Pakistan is well aware of its responsibilities on the issue of nuclear proliferation, and it is fully co-operating with the international community.
To a question he said the country has taken the balanced decision by pardoning Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. The spokesman said Dr. Khan is still under strict security restrictions.

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