ISLAMABAD, OCT 02 (DNA) – Nuclear physicist Dr Samar Mubarakmand has rejected former premier Nawaz Sharif’s assertion that Pakistan reverse engineered a US Tomahawk missile during his tenure to make the Babur cruise missile.

Speaking to reporters in London, Nawaz had said that he had made “immense” contributions to the army. “I have done a lot, I have contributed a lot. We have spent billions, trillions, made the atomic bomb programme, made the JF-17 with China and half the missiles we have, I got them made,” he said.

He also claimed that Pakistan reversed engineered a Tomahawk missile after they found an intact one in Balochistan in 1998 from when “Clinton dropped missiles in Afghanistan”. “We got one, back engineered it and made it,” he said.

His claim has been rejected by Dr Mubarakmand, who said a cruise missile is very sensitive. It’s not possible for the missile to have landed on the ground and not hit anything, he said. The nuclear physicist was a senior figure at Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission.

He said that Pakistan did find a missile in Balochistan but it was in small pieces as it had exploded. It was a useless pile of rubbish, he said. The US didn’t ask for the remains of the missile, if it had we would have given it back, said Dr Mubarakmand. = DNA

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