Ruling out any plans to role back the country's nuclear programme, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said the country's nuclear programme is a vital national asset and necessary steps would be taken to further improve, upgrade and refine it.

Musharraf made these remarks during a presentation given to him by the officials of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in Rawalpindi yesterday on the status of Pakistan's nuclear programme.

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In his remarks at the meeting Musharraf paid tributes to scientists and engineers associated with the country's nuclear programme and claimed it was due to their tireless efforts that Pakistan had emerged as a nuclear power and the country's nuclear programme was going from strength to strength.

He assured the PAEC of the government's continued support, an official release said.

Musharraf has been consistently assuring the country's military and nuclear establishment ever since he ordered the crackdown against top Pakistan nuclear scientists like, A Q Khan in recent months following disclosures by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Pakistan scientists indulged in proliferation of nuclear technology.

Subsequent investigations led to Khan confessing transferring Nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. The President later pardoned Khan while the scientist was kept under house detention.