[Mimsykzr]

Nuke option only if attacked by n-weapons: Naval chief

Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma today said the country will exercise the option of carrying out nuclear strikes if somebody does the "foolhardy" act of attacking it with atomic weapons.

"Only time this (India using nuclear weapons) could happen is when somebody who possesses nuclear weapons does something as foolhardy as to use them. That will be the only occasion when our country would be involved in (its) utilisation," the Navy Chief told reporters here.

Admiral Verma was responding to a media query on Army Chief Gen V K Singh's statement yesterday that nuclear weapons are not for fighting war but to have a strategic capability.

Noting that India had a 'no first use' policy with regard to nuclear weapons, Verma said, "It means there will be no occasion where we will use it (the weapons) first."

He said this policy was a "good one" and met all the requirements of the country.