Islamabad: A witch-hunt has begun to limit Pakistan's nuclear capabilities, a Pakistani daily said Saturday, noting that "India will be the first to benefit from any restrictions the US would like to impose on us".

An editorial "Nuclear Interference" in The Nation on Saturday said that too much of a flurry has been created about Pakistan having the "fastest growing nuclear arsenal" in the world.

"The information is misleading. Our capabilities may be growing fast, but they are still behind those of India. The information is based on a report released by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in August, that is a list of assumptions and predictions-hardly facts.

"No matter, research is research, and the witch-hunt has begun to limit Pakistan's nuclear power. The Indian media is especially happy with the development, and India will be the first to benefit from any restrictions the US would like to impose on us," said the daily.

It added that such is the political chatter prior to the arrival of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Washington next week. "They focus on the American concern that Pakistan might be on the verge of deploying a small tactical nuclear weapon – explicitly modelled on weapons that US put in Europe during the Cold War to deter a Soviet invasion – that would be far harder to secure than the country's arsenal of larger weapons."

"The discussions are being led by Peter R. Lavoy, an intelligence expert on the Pakistani programme who is now on the staff of the National Security Council," said the editorial.

The daily went on to say that the "US will turn us into another Iran if they go down this path, another global boogeyman".

"Pakistan will never bend to such deals, and only suffer economically if any sanctions are enforced. These are the seeds for more resentment, more terror and more extremism.

"The US is playing with fire. However, it may not reach the state of sanctions, but we may have limitations put on our sale and buying of technology. China has already broken ground on a $9.6 billion nuclear power complex in Karachi, so the regulation will amount to naught- except the creation of Pakistan into a regional villain."

(IANS)