Islamabad: The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has said that Pakistan's nuclear assets are unsafe in the hands of Gen Pervez Musharraf and his "puppet" civilian government.

The party’s central information secretary, Siddiqul Farooq, stated this on May 27 while issuing what he called a "fact sheet" on the country's nuclear programme on the 5th anniversary of nuclear tests conducted in 1998.

'Dawn' quoted the PML-N leader as saying, "If we want to secure Pakistan's nuclear assets, resolve the Kashmir issue, take the country out of isolation and regain its prestige in the comity of nations, then we must get rid of Gen Musharraf and his puppet government."

He said as the nation was celebrating the 5th anniversary of Pakistan's emergence as the world's seventh nuclear power, it was proper to review the political developments that led to the decision by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to explode nuclear devices despite tremendous foreign pressures.

The PML-N leader was of the view that Pakistan's strategic interests in the current regional and world scenario called for a determined resolve to continue with the nuclear programme and reject pressure to abandon it to maintain a balance of power and to protect Pakistan's geographical frontiers.

"The argument that once the Kashmir issue is amicably resolved Pakistan would not need the nuclear deterrent has no weight, because for one thing, friendship and hostility are never permanent aspects of international relations," he said.

Unfortunately, Farooq said, the regime, which lacked political foresight and even a strategic vision, was "guided by the misconception of Gen Musharraf" that the US would act as a shield against India's aggressive designs. "It is again a historical fact that the US policies are solely guided by its national interests and can be changed overnight. No one can predict what attitude the next US President would adopt towards Pakistan," the PML-N leader said.

ANI