Pakistan’s N-weapons are safe: Mullen

WASHINGTON, April 28: Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen says the US military feels confident Pakistan's nuclear weapons will not fall into militant hands.

The statement differs sharply from an earlier statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who warned that if the Taliban took over Islamabad, they would have the keys to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

Her statement alarmed Pakistan, causing President Asif Ali Zardari to assure the international community on Monday that the country's nuclear weapons were in safe hands.

A day later, a spokesman for Admiral Mullen told CNN that America's top military commander also believed that Pakistan's nuclear weapons were safe.

Spokesman Capt John Kirby said the admiral was confident that the weapons would not fall into militant hands.

Last week, Admiral Mullen told NBC News that like Secretary Clinton he too had concerns about the safety of Pakistan's nukes.

"In Pakistan, it's a country that has nuclear weapons. My long-term worry is that descent, you know, should it continue, gives us the worst possible outcome there," he warned.

But like Mrs Clinton, Admiral Mullen also said that he was "comfortable for now" with the measures taken by Pakistan for safety of its nukes.

"Does the US have a plan to safeguard Pakistan's nuclear weapons?" he was asked.

"I wouldn't go into any kind of detailed planning. I'm comfortable right now that the measures that the Pakistanis have taken in recent years provide adequate security," Admiral Mullen said.

His statements, and those of Secretary Clinton, show a pattern: the Obama administration does want to highlight what it sees as its major concerns in Pakistan but does not want to rock the boat. Hence, every time a senior US official makes an alarming statement, another comes forward to assure Islamabad that despite such concerns Washington still trusted the Pakistanis.

In his interview to CNN, Admiral Mullen offered a similar assurance, saying that while the US had concerns about the safety of Pakistan's nukes, it was not serious enough to cause the US military to devise a strategy to secure the weapons.