Pakistan denies nuclear arsenal claims

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Pakistan is a peaceful country that is not interested in sparking a nuclear arms race in South Asia, the Pakistani foreign minister said.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi denied allegations that his country had increased its nuclear arsenal from 60 warheads to between 70 and 90, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reports.

A recent article for the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists said Pakistan was "busily" expanding its nuclear arsenal in terms of both quality and quantity.

Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists, an author of the article, said in an interview with the Times of India on Wednesday that Pakistan was making advancements in its weapons technology.

"They are shifting their nuclear base from uranium to plutonium … in a sense, they are turning a chapter," he said.

Qureshi, however, denied the allegations, saying it does not have any particular posture regarding other countries.

"We are against arms race in South Asia and accordingly we have proposed a restraint regime in the region and we do not have any aggressive design against any country," he said.

His comments came during a hospital visit to meet with Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi, who was wounded in an assassination attempt Wednesday.