Islamabad, April 1 (IANS) Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhary has said there was no cause of concern about Islamabad's nuclear programme since the country never had a nuclear accident or breach of security.
At a news briefing on Thursday, the foreign secretary said the impression that Pakistans nuclear installations were insecure was baseless, Dawn online reported on Friday.
Pakistans nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are, he said.
Chaudhary said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40-year old.
The foreign secretary said it was wrong to describe Pakistans short-range missiles or small nukes as battlefield or tactical weapons.
Pakistan has short-range and long-range missiles, and the purpose behind both is to deter aggression, he said, adding We want to prevent war, to prevent the space Indians created for war by building military installations close to the Pakistani border as part of their cold start doctrine, he added.
Calling them battlefield weapons creates a wrong perception. These are for deterrence, only and only for defence, Chaudhary said. There is no cause of concern.
The foreign secretary said Pakistan had installed radiation monitors at all sensitive facilities and planned to install more monitors at all 72 exit and entry points in the country.
India, on the other hand, has an ambitious nuclear programme, and an equally ambitious conventional weapons programme, he added. We have a modest programme because we feel we have the right to defend ourselves.
