Lieutenant-General Talat Masood, a retired senior Pakistan Army commander and nuclear expert, said Mr Saran's claims had some truth in them. "I would not say it [Pakistan's growing nuclear capability] was meant to counter America – that would be suicidal. But there has always been a fear in Pakistan's strategic community and government, in the recent past, a feeling that America is unfavourably inclined towards our nuclear programme and if things got worse it could neutralise our nuclear weapons capability, go after them," he said.