PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in an interview released Wednesday he would visit Pakistan by the end of the year, warning the nuclear-armed country must not fall into ‘terrorist hands.’

‘I will go to Pakistan before the end of the year,’ Sarkozy said in the interview with France 5 television to be broadcast Monday.

‘We will not succeed in Afghanistan if we fail in Pakistan,’ said the French leader, whose country has some 2,800 troops in Afghanistan as part of a 58,000-strong NATO-led international force.

‘Pakistan is a nuclear power and we cannot allow it to fall into terrorist hands,’ Sarkozy warned.

‘France supports the Pakistani authorities,’ the president added. ‘We have launched an in-depth collaboration. It is in our interest that Pakistan succeeds in its struggle against the Taliban.’