During the Nuclear Security Summit, held in Washington, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said: Pakistans nuclear assets are in safe hands and Pakistan is fully aware of its responsibilities on that count. Certainly, he was well aware of the anti-Pakistan propaganda unleashed on the occasion, targeting Pakistans nuclear programme. President Barack Obama also expressed confidence in the security of Pakistans strategic assets during the summit. Moreover, as per Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, President Obama assured that Washington has no sinister designs against Pakistans nuclear programme. But all these statements, despite the confidence that has been expressed on the safety of Pakistans nukes, are also reflective of the influence of the negative propaganda which portrays it (Pakistan) as a nuclear risk. Nevertheless, the global concern about nuclear terrorism is genuine. Al-Qaeda might be making efforts to acquire nuclear weapons but Pakistans command and control system is so foolproof that the militant organisation cannot lay its hands on it. The anti-Pakistan argument is primarily supported by quoting Dr Khans 2004 public confession made under the dictatorial rule of Musharraf. But there is no concrete evidence that the fissile material has ever been compromised in Pakistan. Moreover, the security system put in place for the protection of strategic assets is second to none; comparable to that of any developed country. Truly, the propaganda spawned by the Indo-Israeli lobby is aimed at discrediting Pakistans nuclear programme and projecting it as a rogue state. Unfortunately, prestigious institution like Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government has also jumped on the bandwagon. In its study released on the occasion of the Nuclear Security Summit, Pakistan has been labelled as the greatest worries for nuclear safety. This propaganda indeed is simply incorrect. Nuclear terrorism, if ever happens, will take place due to the mismanagement and neglect of the global powers. The disintegration of USSR provided a field day to all those seeking fissile material. It was available in such abundance that in December 1994 Czech police seized 4 kg of highly enriched uranium. During the same year, German police seized more than 400g of plutonium. In October 2001, Turkish police arrested two men with 1.16 kg of weapon grade uranium. The most frightening revelation was made by General Alexander Lebed (Boris Yeltsins Assistant for National Security Affairs) in 1997, that 84 of some 132 small nuclear weapons were not accounted for in Russia. In none of these cases, has Pakistan been involved. Russians had large stock piles of small nuclear devices such as armys RA-155 and Navys RA-115-01 suitcase nuclear devices, weighing as less as 65 pounds that could be detonated by one soldier in 10 minutes, producing a yield of between 0.5 and 2 kilo tons. The worlds smallest nuclear weapon, an artillery shell 18 inches long and six inches in diameter also formed part of the Russian nuclear arsenal. These tactical weapons were held at 90 different sights throughout USSR, their security remains questionable. Anyway, the loss of Russian fissile material and nuclear weapons is not the end of the story. Not only Soviet Union, but also the United States lost a number of nuclear weapons. During the Cold War at least four Soviet submarines armed with a total of 40 nuclear weapons sank, of which only one could be partially salvaged resulting into the recovery of three nuclear missiles and two nuclear torpedoes. The US Department of Defence has acknowledged the loss of nuclear weapons called Broken Arrows without giving their number. The reports include a 1965 case when an aircraft loaded with a B43 nuclear bomb rolled off a carrier stationed near Japan. Neither the aircraft, nor the weapon was ever recovered. In 1966, the US air force accidentally dropped a 20 megaton nuclear bomb in the Mediterranean Sea during a high altitude refuelling mission near Palomares, Spain. The weapon was recovered after three months. Keeping in view the sensitivity of such events, it will be reasonable to assume that most of the accidents are never reported. A determined enemy can always acquire such information and with the ever-increasing technical capability can reach out to such forgotten weapons. No doubt, profusion of fissile material, nuclear weapons, and related technology is frightening. But the irony is that this fear is being used by certain quarters to pursue their objectives. Maligning Pakistan having no history of loss of fissile material or a nuclear weapon is absolutely unfair. The hypothesis that Pakistani nukes can fall into the hands of Taliban is ridiculously misplaced. It envisages a scenario where Pakistan disintegrates under its own weight due to the criminal neglect and mismanagement by successive governments, and law and order situation created by terrorist attacks, resulting into economic paralysis. It is not likely that such a possibility will ever materialise. The valiant people of Pakistan will not hesitate from any sacrifice they may have to make to guard their sovereignty. The writer is a freelance columnist.