'No need to be alarmed over Pak tunnels'

There was no need to be alarmed over reports suggesting that Pakistan was digging tunnels along its border with India, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said on Monday.

"Every nation has the right to defend itself. Just like we take our measures, Pakistan would also be doing its preparations. We don't have to be alarmed about it," Raju told mediapersons in New Delhi.

He was asked to comment on media reports about Pakistan digging tunnels in Sargodha district in its Punjab province close to the Indian border.

The report said the fact that these huge tunnels do not seem to be leading to any roads has raised suspicions that they may be used to store nuclear weapons or missiles.

Expressing concern over the possibility of Pakistani nukes falling in wrong hands, Raju said, "We hope that the (Pakistan) government is taking adequate measures to make sure that they (nuclear weapons) don't fall in wrong hands."

Observing that the extremist forces 'encouraged and nurtured' by Pakistan were equally detrimental to it, he said, "Any incident that is happening, they are not realising is an outcome of whatever they are nurturing. It is harming Pakistan as much as it is harming us and it has to wake up to that."

When asked about Lashkar-e-Tayiba's plans to attack India by using para-gliding equipment, the minister said the security agencies were adequately prepared to deal with the situation and there was no need to be alarmed.