ISLAMABAD, 12 December 2007 — Pakistan’s military vowed a strong response to any international attempt to seize its atomic arsenal as the army successfully test fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile yesterday.
The security of Pakistan’s estimated 50 nuclear warheads has been under global scrutiny since President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency on Nov. 3.
But the chairman of Pakistan’s joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Tariq Majid, blasted reports by “vested and hostile elements in the international media” about the security of its nuclear weapons, an army statement said.
“Suggestions have been made that our assets could either be neutralized or taken away toward safer place to prevent them from falling into wrong hands,” the statement quoted Majid as saying after witnessing the launch of the cruise missile.
“Though no responsible state in the world can contemplate such an impossible operation, yet if someone did create such a scenario he was confident that Pakistan would meet the challenge strongly,” the statement said.
“Pakistan’s nuclear assets are very safe and secure, and the nation need not worry on that account. There is a very strong security system in place, which can ward off all threats, internal as well as external.”
The army yesterday successfully test-fired the missile capable of delivering nuclear warheads.
The locally developed Babur (Hatf-VII) missile has a range of 700 kilometers and uses stealth technology, a Defense Ministry spokesman told AFP.
“The test will consolidate Pakistan’s strategic capability and strengthen national security,” the army said in a statement.
“The Babur, which has near stealth capabilities, is a low-flying, terrain-hugging missile with high maneuverability, pinpoint accuracy and radar-avoidance features,” it said. President Pervez Musharraf and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro congratulated scientists and engineers involved in the missile program “on this very important success,” the statement said. The launch of the missile is “part of a continuous process of validating the design parameters set for this weapon system,” it said.
Pakistan previously tested the missile in March and again in July. It was first fired in 2005, when its range was only 500 kilometers. Pakistan confirmed last month that the United States was helping it ensure the security of its atomic weapons and shrugged off reports of a secret program with Washington as nothing new. The Foreign Ministry said the strategic arms were safe and secure under a tight command-and-control structure run entirely by Pakistan, and angrily dismissed fears that they could fall into the wrong hands.
A New York Times report had earlier said that Washington has been helping ensure their security in a top-secret program that has cost the United States almost $100 million since 2001, even though Islamabad refuses to allow US inspectors into its nuclear sites.
Pakistan and neighboring India have routinely conducted missile tests since the two countries carried out tit-for-tat nuclear detonations in May 1998.
