Expressing concern over the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, India on Wednesday said it didn't know for "how long and how far" Islamabad would be able to safeguard its strategic assets.
"I think the internal security situation in Pakistan seems to be deteriorating everyday and we really don't know how long and how far the establishment would adequately be able to safeguard its strategic assets such as the nuclear assets," Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said when asked about the possibility of Pakistani nuclear weapons falling into Taliban's hands.
"I hope they are taking adequate measures and we hope that such an incident will not happen," he added.
In the recent past, Taliban militants have targeted a military base linked to Pakistani nuclear facilities.
On reports about the construction of a dam by China on Brahmaputra river in its territory, the Minister said, "I think we are talking to China about sharing all kinds of hydrological data including whatever they are doing on the rivers. They have cooperated to a certain extent."
"We are trying to see that more information is forthcoming from the Chinese government in order to ensure that our lower riverine rights are not affected," Raju said.
Asked if India was also planning to develop space-based capabilities in view of Chinese plans to deploy its assets there, Raju said, "Space-based assets will definitely form the front-line capability in future warfare. When I talk about space-based assets, it is about satellites and navigation systems, and these will be increasingly used."
The Minister added that the Indian armed forces were also working towards utilising communications and other capabilities of space-based assets for greater effectiveness in warfare. PTI
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