Pakistan on Wednesday refuted a report by International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which claims that Islamabad possesses up to 110 nuclear weapons and spent a whopping $2.2 billion on its atomic arsenal last year, terming it as an insidious propaganda campaign.
"The ICAN report (about Pakistan's nuclear programme) was highly exaggerated and part of an insidious propaganda campaign," said Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit while commenting on the report. He underlined that Pakistan's strategic programme was modest aimed at maintaining a credible minimum deterrence to ensure national security.
The Spokesman emphasised that Pakistan's primary focus had been on economic development and welfare of its people, adding that Pakistan was opposed to arms race in South Asian or in any other part of the world. However, in its report titled "Don't bank on the bomb" released this week, the ICAN stated that Pakistan had between 90 and 110 nuclear weapons. It claimed that Pakistan's arsenal had grown substantially in recent years, from 60 to 80 nuclear weapons in 2008.
The report, while citing sources stated that Pakistan intended to double its arsenal in the next five to 10 years with the goal of having up to 350 weapons of varying yield. It further said Pakistan spent an estimated $2.2 billion on its nuclear weapons programme last year, up from $1.8 billion in 2010.
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