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Pak's conventional deterrence averted war: Musharraf

In the midst of a debate over what prevented a conflict between India and Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf on Friday said it was conventional deterrence of Islamabad that averted a war between the two countries than its nuclear deterrence.

Denying reports attributed to him that Pakistan's nuclear weapons deterred India from attacking, Musharraf said: "I never said this. Where did I say that it was nuclear deterrent that has prevented the war. It was their presidential candidate Mr (A P J Abdul) Kalam who is saying that it is the nuclear deterrent that has prevented war on both sides. I have never said that."

"I have been saying that it was our conventional deterrence that has prevented the war. Because our conventional deterrence is very much in place. That has prevented the war," he told BBC Radio and Television in an interview.

"I have always been saying I do not want to even talk about nuclear (war) because it is a too serious a matter to be sitting and discussing," the Pakistani president said.

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