Government 'has capacity' to defend nuclear weapons

Islamabad: The government warned on Monday it had sufficient retaliatory capacity to defend its nuclear weapons.

The warning came from foreign ministry spokesman Mohmmad Sadiq as he reacted to a report in the Washington Post which said the US had made contingency plans to stop Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands.

The Post quoted unnamed US intelligence officials as saying such plans included contingency action to stop any possible raid on nuclear stores and to move the weapons to another location.

The spokesman said there was no risk of the weapons being taken by any group.

"If another country tried to intervene, Pakistan was ready to defend its nuclear arsenal," he said.

"Suffice to say Pakistan possesses adequate retaliatory capacity to defend its strategic assets and sovereignty," he added.