Pakistan army has insisted that
country's nuclear weapons are safe and that the fears about their falling into
the hands of Islamic extremists are totally "unfounded and nonsense".
"Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is very secure.... And our security measures are one
of the best in the world. All these fears are basically unfounded and nonsense,
of course, about nuclear weapons falling into Islamic radicals. There's nothing
like that," army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
"We very well understand how to keep our nuclear weapons secure, how to look
after them. We are a very responsible people, with a responsible institution and
a responsible country," he said in a TV show blaming "militias and vested
interests" for such reports.
The top military official said that the killing of former Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto was an act of terrorism but claimed that "the basic problem of Taliban is
in Afghanistan, not in Pakistan" and Islamabad would ultimately eliminate the
local militants.
"... basically, it was an act of terrorism. They targeted one of the major
political leaders in the country... I think the spokesperson for the ministry
very clearly said that it's Al Qaida and these people, Baitullah Mehsud, who was
behind this act of terrorism, which killed Minister Benazir Bhutto," Arshad
said.
"We have segments of local militants in our area, or local extremists, and are
dealing with them quite effectively and are very confident that we're going to
deal with them and eliminate them, ultimately, from our place," the Pakistani
military official said.
His comments came as former Democratic law maker who is an expert on nuclear
weapons said that the US will have to remain in "close touch" with the Pakistani
Army to ensure that its nuclear weapons are secure.
"...any time you have a nuclear-armed nation, particularly one sitting next to
another nuclear-armed nation who have been a bitter enemy for years, with great
deal of instability bordering on chaos, it's certainly a big problem," former
Democratic Senator Sam Nunn said.
"So, that is our number one concern, and we've got to stay in close touch with
the army in this regard because they are the ones that have to secure the
weapons," he said.
His former colleague in the United States Senate and later Defence Secretary in
the Clinton administration Richard Cohen said the chaotic situation in Pakistan
had led to concerns over its nuclear arsenal.
"I hope it's 100 percent secure... it's always an area of concern whenever you
have any country that has nuclear weapons, and you have the kind of chaotic
situation you have now in Pakistan. So, we hope that the army has it fully under
control. They have maintained it to date, and we would hope that would
continue," Cohen said on the same Sunday Talk Show .
Cohen said the US should demand greater accountability from Pakistan while
maintaining the current level of assistance to fight terrorism.
"... I think the level of support should continue, but we ought to insist upon
accountability. We want the military to use this equipment and aid to go to
fight the terrorists who are living on the border or coming over from
Afghanistan," he said.