Islamabad, Dec 01: Pakistan today brushed off Russian concerns over the safety of its nuclear weapons cache and
instead questioned Russia's own safety record.
"No one should have any fear about our nuclear assets. They are under very tight control," a foreign ministry
statement said.
The statement follows President Vladimir Putin telling an Indian newspaper today that its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) could fall into the hands of terrorists.
Putin, who arrives in India for a three-day official visit on Tuesday, said in an interview to Indian journalists at his Kremlin residence that Russia was worried Pakistan's WMD "could fall into the hands of bandits and terrorists".
"Not only is that dangerous, but we also have concerns that they (terrorists) could obtain information concerning
production techniques of even simple means that could be equal to weapons of mass destruction in their destructive
potential."
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has said that the military potential of his country is safely protected and strictly under control, but Putin said, "To be frank, our concerns, our anxiety still persist."
The foreign ministry statement said that Islamabad had already strongly protested directly to Russia's ambassador over similar comments made by Putin last month.
The ambassador's attention was drawn to Moscow's "Own system of safeguarding its nuclear assets, fissile material and sensitive technology" which "was a matter of serious concern to the international community," it said. The ambassador said that Putin had not been critical of Pakistan and wished to cooperate against terrorism, it added.
Bureau Report
