WikiLeaks: Pakistan dismisses nuclear fears in leaked cables

"Their fears are misplaced and doubtless fall in the realm of condescension," says Abdul Basit.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit on Wednesday dismissed American and British fears that Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme could fall into hands of terrorists as laid bare in leaked American diplomatic cables.

Memos obtained by whistleblower site WikiLeaks and reported by the Guardian and The New York Times suggested that the United States was more concerned than it let on publicly about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

"Their fears are misplaced and doubtless fall in the realm of condescension," foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP.

"There has not been a single incident involving our fissile material, which clearly reflects how strong our controls and mechanisms are," he said.

"It is time they part with their historical biases against Pakistan," Basit said, referring to Britain and the United States.