LAHORE, Jan 6: Foreign Office and the interior ministry must make efforts to trace the whereabouts of Pakistani tourists affected by the Asian tsunami, says Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Ijazul Haq.

He was talking to reporters here on Thursday after a book-launching ceremony. He said that about 5,000 American tourists were missing in the disaster, adding that it was peak tourist season keeping in view that people from all parts of the world had gathered in that region to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.

"It is certain that a large number of Pakistanis, too, must have been there to celebrate the New Year," Ijazul Haq said. Earlier, addressing the ceremony to launch a book titled 'Pak Defence and Nuclear Doctrine' by Hafiz Anees, the federal minister said that national defence was in safe hands and that there was no threat to the country's nuclear capability. -APP