Pakistan rejects sharing nuclear weapons with Saudi

Washington

   Pakistan shrugged off the speculations of reportedly sharing its nuclear weapons with Saudi Arabia and insisted that it would continue to only serve Pakistan’s national defence.

 Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry disclosed this decision and angrily dismissed the speculation as “unfounded and baseless.”  Notably, Pakistan has long been among world’s greatest proliferation threats having shared weapons technology with Iran, Libya and North Korea.

 The threat posed by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, potentially seeking Pakistan’s help in matching Iran’s nuclear capabilities, is being seriously viewed by American and other intelligence service though the US has been playing down the issue.

 "Pakistan is not talking to Saudi Arabia on nuclear issues," Chaudhry insisted. The arsenal, believed to be in excess of 100 weapons, is focused only on Pakistan's threat perception from "the East" Chaudhry said, a clear reference to long-standing rival and fellow nuclear power India.

 Chaudhry also insisted that his country had significantly cracked down in recent years on proliferation. Pakistan, he said, improved its export controls and provided UN nuclear monitors with all necessary information. The country won’t allow any weapon to reach terrorists, he added.

 Even as Pakistan detonated its first nuclear weapons in 1998 shortly after India did the father of the country’s nuclear programme AQ Khan was shopping advanced technology to many of the world’s most distrusted governments.