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Islamabad: The command and control system for Pakistan's nuclear weapons will stay unchanged under the country's new government, made up of opponents of President Pervez Musharraf, an official said yesterday.
Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is overseen by a National Command Authority (NCA) headed by the president and with the prime minister as its vice chairman.
Key cabinet ministers and the heads of the army, navy and air force are also members of the NCA, which controls all aspects of the country's nuclear programme, including deployment and, if ever necessary, the use of the weapons.
However, the military manages and controls the nuclear weapons on behalf of the NCA.
Pakistan formally set up the NCA in 2000, two years after it conducted nuclear tests in response to those of India, and in December last year Musharraf enforced an ordinance giving constitutional protection to the NCA.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said there would be no change to the NCA under the new government sworn-in on March 31.
"It's a constitutional body and there's no change in it," Sadiq said yesterday. "Overall command authority is headed by the president as a head of state."
Although Musharraf continues to head the NCA, his role has considerably weakened in national affairs since he stepped down as army chief in November, and more so after his opponents triumphed in the February 18 parliamentary elections.
A source close to the new coalition, led by the Pakistan People's Party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, said the government, which enjoys close to a two-thirds majority in the parliament, had no plans to change the nuclear command structure. "There's no reason to change anything in a hurry," the source said.
Pakistan is a major ally in the US-led campaign against terrorism but a wave of suicide bombings by Al Qaida-inspired militants to destablise the Muslim nation, particularly after Bhutto's assassination in a gun and bomb attack on December 27, raised concerns over the safety of its nuclear weapons.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared Pakistan's weapons were well protected and he saw little chance of them falling into terrorist hands after meeting Musharraf and officials overseeing the arsenal in February.
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