President Pervez Musharraf, stung by reports that his scientists had sold nuclear secrets abroad, complained on Saturday that possible breaches by European countries were passing in silence.
At a breakfast meeting sponsored by World Economic Forum, he acknowledged that Pakistan had pursued a secret nuclear weapons programme for 30 years, which had no strict controls against leaks of technology.
"The possibility of individuals being involved is there; they are going against national policy," Pakistan's President said, vowing to pursue a thorough inquiry into the matter.
But he bemoaned that while Pakistan had been put in the world spotlight, "there are European countries involved" since the technology involved advanced metallurgy found largely in Europe. "Nobody's talking, that's my concern," he said.
"Maybe, we are the only country that is really going forward with an investigation. I don't know if it's happening in other countries."
Musharraf said Pakistan had launched its nuclear weapons programme in 1974 after India tested a nuclear bomb. "It was covert; it was not open; it was not under strategic check and controls," he said of his country's research.
As a result, he said, it provided opportunities for "some individual or individuals, unscrupulous, if they were out for personal gain selling national assets."
Musharraf insisted that there was little chance of Pakistan's nuclear technology falling into the wrong hands, because the programme was under "very strict custodial controls". "We have not left any stone unturned to ensure the security of all our efforts," he said.
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