OSLO, Oct 7: The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize was on Friday awarded to the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA and its Egyptian director-general Mohamed ElBaradei for their efforts against nuclear weapons proliferation, the Nobel committee said.

The organization and its chief were honoured “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way,” it said in its citation.

The UN agency and its head have been instrumental in thorny negotiations in Iran and North Korea over the past year that have brought the dangers of nuclear proliferation to the forefront of international consciousness.

MUSHARRAF FELICITATES: Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf on Friday congratulated the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA and its Egyptian chief Mohamed ElBaradei for winning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.—AFP/APP