Pakistani nuclear assets in safe hands: Nawaz Sharif

Islamabad, Sept 5: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday asserted that the country's nuclear facilities were in safe hands.

"Our nuclear facilities are in safe hands," Sharif said at a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA), held in the wake of media reports stating that the US had intensified its surveillance of Pakistan's nuclear programmes after the leakage of US classified documents by whistleblower Edward Snowden, Dawn reported.

NCA is the principal forum responsible for command and control of the country's nuclear arsenal. It also looks after the security and safety of nuclear installations.

The meet was also called to find solutions over the prevailing situation at the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan, and explore the effects of a possible US-led strike on Syria.

Others participating in the NCA meet included the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Khalid Shamim Wynne, the three services chiefs along with Foreign Affairs and National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali, Finance Minister Ishaq Khan and Lt-Gen (retd.) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, chief of the strategic plans division.

NCA is responsible for command and control of the country's nuclear arsenal.

The document on US intelligence 'black budget', leaked by Snowden, claimed that US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper had declined to certify that Pakistan's nuclear safeguards were enough.

The US is primarily concerned about the possibility of the nuclear facilities being attacked by militants, much like attacks on other security installations, and prospects of extremists having infiltrated military and intelligence ranks.

IANS