Pakistan claims nuclear facilities safe from cyber, other threats for 40 years

Pakistan has given 'highest importance' to ensuring that the country's nuclear programme is safe and secure, Ambassador Masood Khan told the UN General Assembly.

Khan assured the assembly that the country's nuclear weapons stockpile was safe and secure from the entire spectrum of threats, including cyber attacks.

According to the Express Tribune, the statement from Khan came while commenting on a report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog.

The comments from Khan also came after it emerged that a flaw in the widely used Microsoft word operating programme had a critical security flaw, "zero day" that had been exploited in the Middle East and South Asia region.

Khan told the 193-member assembly that Pakistan has an unblemished record of running a safe, secure and safeguarded civil nuclear programme for the last forty years.

Khan explained that Pakistan has established 'extensive physical protection measures, robust command and control structures, comprehensive export controls and an effective regulatory regime to ensure safety and security of nuclear materials and installations,' the report said.

He said that a specially trained and skilled force of 25,000 nuclear security officials ensures the security of the country's nuclear assets.

He also pointed out that all nuclear power plants in Pakistan were under IAEA Safeguards.