Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, unlike India's, does not contain a clause saying the country will not use its weapons first in any conflict. It was not clear if President Asif Ali Zardari's comments, made during a video conference question-and-answer session organized by the Indian newspaper The Hindustan Times, represented a formal change in policy.

"We will most certainly not use it (nuclear weapons) first, I don't agree ... to nuclear weapons. I hope we never get to that position," Zardari reportedly said.

Zardari said he doesn't feel threatened by India, and "India should not feel threatened by us." He proposed the idea of a nuclear-free South Asia, saying he could persuade lawmakers to support such a plan, the reports said.

"I can get around my parliament to this view, but can you get around the Indian parliament to this view?" he asked, giving no more details of the proposal.

Predominantly Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan have fought three wars since they were created in the bloody partition of the Indian subcontinent at independence from Britain in 1947.

The stakes got much higher after both tested nuclear weapons in 1998.

Zardari's remarks were carried in Indian and Pakistani newspapers. Zardari's media assistant said a transcript of the remarks was not immediately available. He said he was not able to speak about their accuracy as reported.
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