Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has dismissed US concerns that his country's nuclear weapons can fall into the hands of Taliban militants.

"I want to assure the world that the nuclear capability of Pakistan is under safe hands," he said in an interview on Monday.

Zardari's remarks come after the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday in Baghdad, said the US was worried about the 'unthinkable' in Pakistan -- that the Taliban and al-Qaeda could topple the government, giving them 'the keys to nuclear arsenal'.

Washington also says that Pakistan poses a 'mortal threat' to world security by accepting Taliban's desire for autonomy in the troubled northwestern Swat valley and its adjoining areas.

The developments come amid reports that the Taliban were planning to infiltrate into the capital and its adjoining areas.

JR/SME/MMA