Islamabad, Jan 26, IRNA ,Pakistan said Saturday there is no threat its nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of militants but said security for nukes has been stepped up.
“The state of alertness has gone up, most certainly,” Lt Gen (retired) Khalid Kidwai, the chief of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) that is responsible for the security and development of nukes said.
Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani also on Friday rejected fears about the safety of the nuclear weapons “as unrealistic and based on a lack of understanding of Pakistan’s command and control mechanisms”.
Kidwai told foreign journalists that security has been increased for its nuclear program and installations in the past six months, adding that are is no threat, plot or conspiracy to take over the atomic weapons.
He said that Pakistan has a strong and multi-layer protection command and control systems that also includes 10,000 security personnel who are guarding storage and production facilities for nuclear weapons, He said that the SPD’s intelligence had uncovered “no plots or conspiracies” to gain control of the nuclear weapons or to make a “dirty bomb” containing radioactive material.
He noted that the armed forces are “always responding to threats”, adding that the SPD and military had planned for “all contingencies”, including militant threats and any attempt by foreign forces to secure Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
Referring to Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, based in South Waziristan tribal region, Kidwai said the militant leader “has a capability and we are prepared for it”.
He stressed that atomic bombs were “weapons of the last resort” and could hypothetically be used in hostilities with a country like India in the event of “space losses, severe force destruction or economic losses”.