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France unsure about Pakistan's nuclear deterrent: WikiLeaks

Last Updated 04 May 2018, 01:56 IST

According to a cable dated September 3, 2009 disclosed by whistle-blower website and published in Dawn newspaper, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Diplomatic Adviser Jean-David Levitte had told US diplomats that the French government was "not sure that the Pakistani nuclear deterrent is secure," especially "with the frequent movement of nuclear weapons by the Pakistani military."

Taliban has stepped-up a violent campaign in Pakistan to avenge Osama bin Laden's killing and has renewed fears that the country's nuclear warheads could be vulnerable.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet had on May 27, in New Delhi expressed his concerns regarding Pakistan, saying "this part of the world needs some clarification and stability as well. India is an old strategic partner... Regarding Pakistan we are waiting for clarifications,".

Longuet, however, had evaded a direct reply on whether France would stop sale of heavy weaponry to Pakistan in the wake of Osama Bin Laden being found in Abbottabad.

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(Published 29 May 2011, 11:32 IST)

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