Pakistan says it was set to use atomic weapons

PAKISTAN President Pervez Musharraf yesterday said he had been ready to use atomic weapons if Indian forces entered Pakistani territory earlier this year during a peak in tensions — an admission of how close the neighbours came to nuclear war.

“I personally conveyed messages to (Indian) Prime Minister Vajpayee through every international leader who came to Pakistan, that if Indian troops moved a single step across the international border or line of control, they should not expect a conventional war from Pakistan,” he told Pakistani Air Force veterans.

Pakistan refers to the use of its nuclear arsenal as non-conventional war.