ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said his country is fully capable of defending itself without any outside help, reports Xinhua.

"With the grace of Allah, we can defend ourselves on our own. it is a big achievement.'’ Sharif said in reference to Pakistan's matching response to India's nuclear explosions on May 28 and 30.

He was speaking at the special session of the Senate marking the Silver Jubilee of the Parliament's Upper House.

The prime minister said that Pakistan was offered a lucrative package before May 28 to stave off a befitting response to India's nuclear explosions.

"But we refused to accept that in view of the track record of such assurances in the past.'' he said. "No country can survive as a sovereign and Independent state by living on borrowed crutches."

Referring to his last week meeting with Indian Prime Minister Atal Beharl Vajapyee in Colombo. Sri Lanka, he said the core issue of Kashmir figure atop in the bilateral talks.

"I asked the Indian prime minister that official should start talks from where they were left off on June 23," he said. Pakistan and India's foreign secretaries sign an agreement in their talks here in June

last year with Kashmir and security related issues topping the list.

"The Indian prime minister showed reluctance and said it is difficult to sell this in India, then 1 said it is difficult to sell vice versa in Pakistan." Sharif recalled.

Sharif also urged the International community particularly the UN Security Council to Say its due role in the just reso-tion of the Kashmir dispute.

Reuter adds: Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reshuffled his Cabinet, taking the key Finance Ministry portfolio himself and replacing his foreign minister as the country battles crippling international economic sanctions.

Sharif replaced Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub with Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz, official APP news agency said today.

The Cabinet posts were reshuffled late on Thursday. APP said. No information was immediately available as to why the changes had been made.

Sharif has been reported to be under tremendous political pressure to make Cabinet changes since several countries slapped sanctions on Pakistan for ignoring International pleas and going ahead with May nuclear tests in response to tests by arch-rival India.

The government says It may have to consider calling a moratorium on its 30 billion dollars debt because the United States had blocked disbursement of aid and depriving it of the 3 billion dollars it needs a year to service foreign debt.

The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. Hafiz Pasha, was made adviser to the prime minister on finance.

Government officials said Hafiz Pasha left for Jeddah on Thursday night to negotiate a 700 million dollars trade financing agreement with the Islamic Development Bank there. Aziz had earlier been scheduled to make the trip.

Former foreign minister Khan was made minister for Water and Power, replacing Raja Nadir Pervez who was shuttled to Minister for Communications. a post that had been vacant for some months.

Yaqub Khan Nasir, who headed the Railways Ministry, was dropped. APP said Deputy Minister for Water and Power Halim Siddiiqui had relinquished additional responsibilities at the Ministry of Communications.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. Minister of Sports. Culture and Tourism who also headed the Ministry of Labour. Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, retained only the Labour Ministry. No new Inductions in the Cabinet were made.