Former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan’s nuclear programme is completely safe but someone may endanger it.
In a statement Qureshi said that he has never directly or obliquely questioned the physical safety of Pakistan’s nuclear assets.
“For obvious reasons, my comments were distorted to give the impression that I had joined the ranks of those who claim that Pakistan’s nuclear assets were unsafe and could fall into the hands of militant elements,” he added.
According to him the past few days a string of media comments, articles and official statements have criticized his remarks on Pakistan’s nuclear assets he had made in his address to the last month’s rally.
“At the outset let me set the record straight I had said in Ghotki that “I have fears that under President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s nuclear program in not safe,” he further stated.
The former foreign minister said that he is fully aware of the safety protocols and the command and control structure in place for the safety of the physical infrastructure of the nuclear assets in the country.
“Being former foreign minister not only am I aware of these protocols, but also I clearly understand their importance, efficacy and sustainability. I have defended their foolproof mechanism at international forums as well,” he said.
Even today, Qureshi said, he can confidently defend any criticism against the command and control structure of our assets.
Expressing his fears about confidence in the incumbent president, he said that the official statement from the Foreign Office is correct in stating that under the 18th Amendment, all powers have been transferred to the parliament and the executive authority is vested with the Prime Minister.
But the nation fully knows where the real power rests in this government and denying the obvious serves no purpose, he said. “That is where my fear lies. As the memogate scandal has revealed, there are forces present in the country today that would not hesitate to use our nuclear program to prolong their regime,” he maintained.
He pointed out that the infamous memo clearly indicated that “retooling of our nuclear program”, was one of the carrots dangled before the US Administration in a bid to secure the present regime against any military coup.
He further explained that while the role played by key officials of the present government in the scandal remains under investigation and the existence of the memo and its contents cannot be wished away or brushed under the carpet.
“Someone, somewhere in this government considers it to be a fair bargain to negotiate away our nuclear program for personal gains,” he blamed.
“That was the context of my remarks in Ghotki and that remains my serious concern even today,” he concluded.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi should be ashamed of the way he mentioned safety of our nuclear assets. He was Pakistan's Foreign Minister for over three years. Such an irresponsible statement could not be expected from a person who held such a responsible position. If PTI has an iota of patriotism, they should throw him out and if he has realised his mistake, he should make a public apology and leave politics as an expression of atonement.
PTI accumulating these crooks no wonder by the time election bell rings the party will be consumed by gentile washers (lotas) ,alarm is it just imran or establishment making all the moves ?
Political opponents twist the political statements made by opponents whether such stements madr by Shah Muhmood Qureshi or so called Khadim-e- Punjab, when such statements are not of much concern to the 90% of 180 million people of Pakistan. Therefore politicians need to concentrate more, in their speeches, the strategy they would evolve , after coming in to power, that how best they can manage the ruti, kapra, makan, education, health, justice and opportunities to work in a fair play for all.
Comments are closed.