8216;Pak nukes not a worry, Musharraf in command8217;

8220;We wish them all success in their endeavours because we believe that a strong, stable and prosperous Pakistan will be helpful to us,8221; he said.

Asked about concerns voiced in the Western media over the dangers of Pakistani nuclear weapons falling into 8216;jehadi hands8217; given the political instability in that country, Mukherjee in a carefully-worded response said, 8220;everybody will have concerns if they nuclear weapons fall into wrong hands or if non-state actors have access to them. But, perhaps now President Musharraf is in command of the situation and I think he is also the civilian head of the command of the nuclear system.8221;

During the interaction, Mukherjee answered questions on a wide range of topics including China, Sri Lanka and the current status of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

He said if one looked at the history of Pakistan, it had gone through many difficult situations but, at the same time, it had shown there was 8216;strength and resilience in the system to overcome them8217;.

Asked if the current situation could lead to increased violence in Jammu and Kashmir, the minister said 8216;problems8217; in the state were there and were not new.

8220;Sometimes infiltrations and terrorist activities are accelerated and decelerated. Perhaps, terrorism cannot be switched on and switched off. In many of the countries it has taken a long time to settle the issue. We are engaged in a Composite Dialogue with Pakistan. We are pinning hopes on the assurances in the Joint Statement of January 6, 2004 that Pakistan8217;s territory will not be allowed to be used by terrorists. We are hoping that they will adhere to the commitments and that the infrastructure which are there will be destroyed,8221; he said.