Pakistan denies selling nukes to Saudi Arabia: Foreign Ministry

Pakistan on Thursday rejected reports that the country has planned to sell nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia.

The Sunday Times of London had claimed that Saudi Arabia had" taken the'strategic decision'to acquire'off-the-shelf'atomic weapons from Pakistan,"citing unnamed American officials.

According to the report, the kingdom wants to get nuclear weapons to counter Iran after the recent nuclear deal it reached with the West.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry rejected the report. "There has been an entirely baseless and mischievous campaign in the international media regarding Pakistan's indigenous nuclear program. The Sunday Times story appears to be part of that malevolent campaign and is utterly unfounded,"the Foreign Office Spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said.

He said at his weekly briefing that Pakistan has robust command and control structure and comprehensive export controls, adding Pakistan supports objectives of non-proliferation as well as nuclear safety and security. "As a responsible nuclear state, Pakistan is fully aware of its responsibilities. Pakistan's nuclear program is purely for its own legitimate self-defence and maintenance of a credible minimum deterrence,"the spokesman said.

When asked if Pakistan supports Saudi Arabia's right to peaceful nuclear energy under NPT, he said all parties to the NPT have the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. "This right has been granted to them by the treaty. It is, therefore, not for me to comment on that,"Khalilullah said.

Saudi Arabia has also dismissed the reports that it wants to buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan as mere"speculation."

A Saudi Defense Ministry official was quoted as saying that such reports are not new and that the ministry does not comment on rumors and speculation. Endi