Pakistan nuclear assets are safe from extremists: Kidwai

Pakistan has become more alert to the possible threat posed by militants to its nuclear facilities in recent months but its security system is safe and would prevent the extremists from ever gaining control of the weapons, a top official said Saturday.
Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Khalid Kidwai, who is Director General of the Strategic Plans Division that handles Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, said about 10,000 soldiers were deployed to secure the facilities and provide intelligence under a command and control system headed by President Pervez Musharraf and other top military and political leaders.
“There’s no conceivable scenario, political or violent, in which Pakistan will fall to extremists of the al-Qaida or Taliban type,” Kidwai said at a briefing for foreign journalists.
“Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, fissile material and infrastructure are absolutely safe and secure.”
Kidwai said his division still plans for any contingency and has reassessed the militant threat in light of escalating attacks on security forces and intelligence personnel, although it had received no intelligence of a terrorist plot against the nuclear facilities.