An official from Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) said Wednesda Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (CHASHNUPP) set up in Pakistan's north with the help of China was as safe as any nuclear power plant in the advanced countries.

Pervaiz Butt, a PAEC member, was quoted by the Associated Press of Pakistan as saying that "the plant has been built in accordance with the international standards."

He said CHASHNUPP fully complied with the standards set by Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency.

Butt said China has had a long experience in nuclear technology. "They have been making nuclear-related equipment for years for their large sized research reactors," he added.

He ruled out possibility of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl nuclear plant in former Soviet Union in 1980." CHASHNUPP and Chernobyl are world apart," said Butt. CHASHNUPP was a pressurized water reactor with a very thick special steel pressure vessel and a three feet thick pre-stressed concrete containment, noted Butt.

"All these arrangements completely prevent any escape of radioactivity to the environment should an untoward incident takes place," he said. (Xinhua)