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Senior Pakistani official addresses nuclear security concerns
By Farhan Bokhari
31 January 2008
Pakistan's nuclear weapons remain safe and beyond the reach of Islamic militants, according to the director general of Pakistan's Strategic Plans Division, retired lieutenant general Khalid Kidwai.
In his first ever public comments on the subject Kidwai acknowledged that the "state of alertness has gone up" in the past year, which has seen Islamic militants loyal to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban intensifying their attacks on the Pakistani military. However, he added that the military was "capable of thwarting all types of threats", whether internal or external.
Kidwai's comments came amid mounting international concern over the security of Pakistan's nuclear programme. In the past year, the rising number of attacks linked back to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have increased fears that Pakistan's nuclear assets might be vulnerable to Islamised elements within the military.
The Pakistani government has never disclosed information on the number of nuclear bombs it has manufactured but Western analysts believe that Pakistan has between 65 and 100. These include a small number, possibly five to eight, produced from plutonium, with the rest made using highly enriched uranium.