In this file photo, a surface-to-surface Agni V missile is displayed during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.(Photo: Reuters)
New Delhi: The government on Thursday dismissed as “baseless” claims by Pakistan that India was building a “secret nuclear city” to produce thermonuclear weapons.
In a press conference on Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria, without providing evidence or further details, said India was building a “secret nuclear city” to produce thermonuclear weapons as well as developing intercontinental missiles and secretly stockpiling nuclear material.
Dismissing the allegations, the Ministry of External Affairs has called them a “figment of Pakistan’s imagination”.
“These are completely baseless allegations. The so-called secret city appears to be a figment of Pakistan’s imagination. India has always been in compliance with all its international obligations. This is a very strange statement coming from a country that (a) does not have a separation plan; and (b) has a strong record of proliferation which is well known to the world,” the ministry said.
“India has very different credentials. So, clearly this shows a lack of comprehension. Furthermore, there is no doubt that this is a diversionary tactic by Pakistan which aims to deflect attention from the real issue at hand – the continued state sponsorship of terrorism by Pakistan and its harbouring of internationally designated terrorists,” it added.