Pakistan's Nuclear Program Safe From Terrorists - Foreign Office Sources

Pakistan rebukes claims in a US Congress report that Pakistan’s nuclear program is in danger of falling into the hands of terrorists, sources in the Foreign Office of Pakistan told Sputnik on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The US Congress report on Pakistan published on May 14 stated that the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, materials, and technologies continues to be a top-tier US concern.

“The parts about Pakistan’s nuclear program and danger of it falling in the hands of terrorists are again based on mollified intentions,” the sources said.

The sources said that the country meets all international requirements for the security of its nuclear program.

“Pakistan has a robust and effective nuclear control regime in place. The effectiveness of the nuclear security system is recognized by the international community,” the sources said.

Earlier in May an article published in an Islamic State propaganda magazine Dabiq said the militants wanted to buy a nuclear weapon in Pakistan and then smuggle it into the United States.

Pakistan is known to be in possession of nuclear weapons. The country, along with India and Israel, is not a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

US Congress Report on Pakistan's Fight Against Terrorism is 'Insult'

The recently published US Congress report on Pakistan is "an insult" to the country’s dedication to fighting Islamist terrorist groups, the sources in the Foreign Office of Pakistan told Sputnik.

“The Congress Report was not based on the objective assessment of the situation in Pakistan. It is an extension of a Pakistan maligning campaign in the media, which has suddenly started again in recent weeks,” the sources said.

The US Congress report on Pakistan published on May 14 stated that Pakistan is a “haven” for several Islamist terror groups and successive Pakistani governments are widely believed to have supported some outfits as proxies in the country's historical conflicts with its neighbors.

According to the sources, Pakistan has suffered more than any nation in the region in the fight against terror and more than 50,000 people have been killed by terrorists over the last decade, including thousands of Pakistani soldiers, police, and paramilitary forces. The country has also employed more than 100,000 soldiers in fighting terrorism, the sources added.

“The report is in fact an insult to those brave men and women who sacrificed their lives at the hands of terrorists,” the sources said.

The report stated that Pakistan faced significant difficulties in the way they address domestic and international terrorism.

It also pointed out that a lack of organization, resources and inept methodology hampered legal and judicial institutions and processes, with law enforcement officials and prosecution witnesses facing security threats.

The report quoted independent analysts saying that Pakistan security services were willing to make distinctions between what they considered "good" and "bad" Islamist extremist groups.

Several known extremist groups are currently operating in Pakistan, including the Pakistani Taliban, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Taiba. In December 2014, Pakistan lifted its death penalty moratorium for those convicted of terrorism after Taliban gunmen killed more than 150 people, including 134 children, in a school attack in the city of Peshawar.