Pak nuclear assets being guarded by 10,000 security personnel : Official

Islamabad, May 28 (ANI): Pakistan has reiterated that its nuclear assets are in safe custody and a large force of nearly 10,000 people have been deployed to keep a tight vigil on the country's nuclear arsenals.

Director of arms control and disarmament affairs at the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) Air Commodore Khalid Banuri claimed that Pakistan has taken world class safety measures to safe guard its nuclear assets.

He rebuked world wide concerns over Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into the extremists' hands, saying it was being done according to a malicious propaganda to destroy the country's international image.

"The intent clearly appears to be mala fide.It does not make sense for anyone to continue to harp on this despite having understanding of how Pakistan does its work," The Dawn quoted Banuri, as saying.

"We have taken stringent measures which are legislative, institutional, procedural and administrative. We have ensured all aspects of nuclear capability," he added.

He said that Islamanbad has been in constant touch with the international community regarding the safety of its nuclear weapons.

"We have interaction with several countries, including the US, EU and Japan, and the IAEA. What we have with the US, this is clearly known .Our interaction with the US is based on the two basic principles, non-intrusiveness and our right to pick and choose," he said.

Meanwhile, disgraced nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has also said that the nuclear arsenal of the country was safe and under a scientific command and control system. (ANI)