Pakistan warns against nuclear threat from India

WASHINGTON: Pakistan on Thursday warned against the rising nuclear threat level from India and stressed that it had the right to defend itself.

Briefing the media at the nuclear summit which began here on Thursday, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Aizaz Choudhry said: "We have legitimate concerns against India. We have a modest nuclear programme but we don't want an arms race in the region.

"Our deterrence is credible and minimum. It's defined by the national command authority. They assess the threat level first and then keep the deterrence accordingly. It depends on the threat level from India. The threat level, however, is rising. India's program is very ambitious. We have the right to defend ourselves," the Pakistani official said. He emphasised that nuclear security was a national responsibility and every country had to take voluntary steps to ensure safety of their nuclear programme.

Aizaz Choudhry said the Pakistani National Command Authority was in full charge of nuclear safety and security. Asked about the US concern that physical protection was difficult when battlefield weapons were deployed, the Pakistani foreign secretary said: "We are preventing the war. We are preventing space that was created by Indians. Our programme is safe and secure and the world acknowledges that. We don't even call it battlefield weaponry. It has restored strategic stability in the region because of these weapons. There shouldn't be a concern about this. Pakistan is a responsible state."

He recalled that the number of nuclear material reported stolen was 2734, and not single one was from Pakistan. He said all and even the low yield weapons were controlled by the National Command Authority. "We are putting up radiation detection equipment at sensitive facilities in the country as well as working to arrange these on almost 72 exit areas."