Antony warns of ‘wrong hands’ possessing N-weapons

Broken Life: Pakistani volunteers collect body parts of the victims of a suicide bombing, outside a judicial complex in Peshawar on Thursday. Union Minister A.K. Antony on Monday said terror attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan had pushed South Asia into a region of 'conflict and instability'.

With increasing terror attacks in Pakistan raising concerns over the safety of its nuclear arsenal, Defence Minister A. K. Antony on Monday said the threat of these weapons falling in wrong hands was an “area of serious concern” and its consequences would be “unimaginable“.

Noting that there was scarcely any country which was not affected by terrorism, Mr. Antony said the recent terror-related incidents in Pakistan and Afghanistan have “thrust South Asia into a sub-conventional conflict and instability.”

“Threat of nuclear weapons falling in wrong hands remains an area of serious concern and consequences of such a situation are unimaginable,” he said while addressing a seminar ‘Changing Nature of Conflict: Trends and Responses’

On the steps for combating terror, the Defence Minister said there was a need for nations to initiate forward-looking responses and to be unified and collective in their fight against terror.

Speaking on the occasion, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said South Asia along with West Asia has emerged as “one of the epicentres of conflict and instability.”

The Army Chief warned that the situation would “further worsen since there was neither any political or diplomatic unity nor any common ground to build a consensus to fight this new war.”

“Territorial disputes, provocation by proxy wars, religious fundamentalism, radical extremism, ethnic tensions and socio-economic disparities are the hallmarks of South Asia,” he added.