And it came as quite a shock with Dr Santhanam himself mentioning that it was a fizzle. Of course, again he was referring to the thermonuclear weapon. So, Dr Kalam's statement was not quite convincing,' said Malik.

'You can convince people only through the scientists, particularly those who participated in this exercise. I am referring to Dr (Rajagopal) Chidambaram and his whole team from the Atomic Energy Commission.

'I don't think we can be convinced easily by people who are not scientists. This is a matter of technology and these are the people who can discuss and reassure you,' Malik told CNN-IBN in an interview.

Malik said that the remarks of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue were more of a 'political statement'.

'In things like this, particularly for the armed forces, they have to be convinced by people who have developed these weapons,' he added.