By Muhammad Najeeb
Islamabad, Jan 25 (IANS) Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are in safe hands and fears in the West that they could fall into extremist hands are “unrealistic”, army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said Friday.
The general made the comments after Pakistan successfully test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile Shaheen-1 (Hatf-4), marking the conclusion of the army’s annual field training exercises.
“Pakistan does not have any aggressive designs against anyone,” Gen Kayani said, adding the country’s nuclear capability was “solely for the purpose of deterring all types of aggression”.
He dismissed international concerns that Islamists might take over the country’s nuclear weapons as “unrealistic”.
He said such speculation was “based on a lack of understanding of Pakistan’s command and control mechanisms”.
He said the Pakistani armed forces were highly professional, motivated and well trained and capable of safeguarding the nuclear assets against all threats.
A statement by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the army’s Strategic Missile Group launched the nuclear-capable missile. The site of the test was not disclosed.
The Shaheen-1 Ballistic Missile System, with a range of 700 km, is an operational weapon system the army’s Strategic Force Command (ASFC) holds and is routinely test fired during training exercises by troops of the ASFC.
Gen Kayani, senior military officers and scientists witnessed the launch.
The army chief added that Pakistani troops had developed a strong nuclear deterrence and said he expected the officers and men entrusted with the task of deterring aggression to train hard and maintain professional excellence.