Friday, December 12, 2008

Ex-IAF chief says no chance of Pak nukes falling into wrong hands

Ex-IAF chief says no chance of Pak nukes falling into wrong hands
The News, December 13, 2008

WASHINGTON: Retired Indian Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi voiced strong confidence about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear assets and said Pakistan’s armed forces are very, very professional and they have put a lot of safety measures in place.

Speaking at the National Press Club as a panelist for Global Zero, an organisation advocating an end to nuclear weapons in the world, he said: “Pakistan’s armed forces are very, very professional —- we know, we fought them —- and from all accounts, they have put a lot of safety measures in place.”

Speaking on the occasion, Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general, said: “There is no way that any militant can get any fissile material or weapons and use them.” Masood referred to the metaphor used by late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and said “Pakistan has gone to the extent of eating grass to acquire nuclear weapons, so it’s not going to hand them to militants.”

“It is genuinely very safe and secure. I’m not saying it emotionally, I’m saying it with all sense of responsibility, because I know the types of layers, commands, types of security circles, there is no way any militant can get (them). There is no question of that,” he added.

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