ElBaradei fears for security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal

The head of the UN atomic watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei has voiced concern over the possibility that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal could fall into extremist hands, in statements published on Tuesday.

“I fear that chaos… or an extremist regime could take root in that country which has 30 to 40 warheads,” ElBaradei told the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat in an interview.

He stressed that he was “worried that nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of an extremist group in Pakistan or in Afghanistan.”

Musharraf said in December that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were under control.

Tensions have been running high in Pakistan since the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto.

“I fear that a war in the Middle East or in the Muslim world could have grave repercussions in Pakistan, more than in Iran,” ElBaradei said.