Disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan has ruled out the possibility of a war between India and Pakistan due to tension created by the Mumbai terror attacks as both countries possess nuclear deterrent.

India cannot attack Pakistan since both countries have nuclear deterrence, said Khan, who has been under house arrest since 2004 when he confessed to involvement in running a nuclear proliferation network.

Khan, considered the architect of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, alleged in an interview to Dawn News channel that India wanted to extract "maximum mileage" from the situation in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist strikes and was trying to "implicate" Pakistan in the attacks.

While he did not deny the external threats facing Pakistan, Khan said the internal security challenges were "much worse" and needed immediate attention of the government.

If the nation is internally strong, it could also face external problems, he said.

India has linked elements in Pakistan to the brazen terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed 183 people and injured hundreds more.