Pakistan to sell nuclear material
Special report: India and Pakistan
Rory McCarthy in Islamabad and Julian Borger in Philadelphia
Thursday August 3, 2000
The Guardian
The military regime in Pakistan is to allow the export of radioactive material and equipment for nuclear reactors, in apparent breach of recently drafted guidelines.
The news surprised and confused US officials, who said it appeared to undermine much of the recent progress made in talks on introducing greater controls on nuclear materials.
In a full-page newspaper advertisement the Pakistani commerce ministry has published an application form for the export of 11 radioactive substances, including depleted uranium, enriched uranium, plutonium and tritium, and 17 types of equipment, including nuclear power reactors, nuclear research reactors and reactor control systems.
It is the first time Pakistan has openly authorised the sale of nuclear materials since it became the world's newest acknowledged nuclear power in May 1998, when it conducted six bomb tests in direct response to tests in India.
Would-be exporters, who have to pay up to £1,400 in application fees, must declare that the sale is for peaceful purposes only and the material will not be re-exported.
They must reveal the source of the material or equipment, supply an end-user certificate, and obtain a "no-objection certificate" from the government. Although almost all nuclear material is held by the government, there are some private contractors.
"This is a fulfilment of our commitment to transparency," Javed Jabbar, the information minister, said yesterday. "There is absolutely no scope left for any kind of misuse or pilferage or illegal export of any substance. We are doing it only in order to be a good nuclear citizen."
He said Pakistan had exported no nuclear material in the past and had no immediate plans for exports now.
Ishfaq Ahmed, the head of the Pakistani atomic energy commission, said the export of fissionable material, including enriched uranium and plu tonium, was banned but other nuclear material exports would be considered. His statement contradicted the advertisment's suggestion that enriched uranium and plutonium could be exported.
"We made a commitment to the international community that we would put in a place a system to exercise controls on nuclear exports and that is what this is," he said.
A US state department official said: "This is not exactly what the US had in mind when we talked to them about nuclear controls."
Another, engaged in monitoring Pakistan's nuclear programme, said export control guidelines had been drawn up by Islamabad only two weeks ago, and the advertisement seemed to contradict them.
"Up to now the Pakistanis have not supported the idea of making money out of selling this stuff," the official said. "We're still trying to figure out what all this new stuff means."
Pakistan's newest nuclear reactor went operational last month. The 300Mw plant at Chasma, in Punjab, was built with Chinese help. Another on the same site should be ready within 10 years.
The country's first plant, a 125Mw reactor in Karachi, began operations in 1971. Pakistan also operates a research reactor at Khushab, near Lahore, also built with Chinese help. It produces enough weapons-grade plutonium for five nuclear warheads every year, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
It has at least two uranium enrichment plants and two plutonium reprocessing plants.
The decision to invite nuclear exports comes as the government struggles to revive the economy. With $38bn (£25.5bn) in foreign debt still to be paid, it must raise revenue quickly.
"The purpose of this is very clear: it is to earn much-needed money," a former army chief, General Mirza Aslam Beg, said. "It shows we have enough material to maintain our low-level nuclear deterrence and so much in surplus that we can sell it in the open market. <u>It is a respectable way of earning money." </u>
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Note the dual (purpose)nature of the above statements.
1) Proliferate Nukes to Islamic regimes that are threat to US.
2) Its all for money Honey, just give more money and we will be happy. aka Black Mail.
Jem>> The effort of unkil will be restricted and limited purely to uncover the threat of WMD attack on US but not to find the real culprit in the proliferation.
WHy so?
The answer is child play, PRC The commie buddies of GOTUS under Nixon, then under Carter were encouraging the PRC to proliferate Nukes and Missiles.
Need proof, just google away the role of papa bush as ambassador to china, Brezenski (carter admin)
"CHINA'S NUCLEAR AND MISSILE PROLIFERATION
Since the 1970s, China has been instrumental in Pakistan's nuclear and missile programs. China provided Pakistan with highly enriched uranium, ring magnets necessary for processing the uranium, and education for nuclear engineers. Pakistan's nuclear bomb, in fact, is widely believed to be based on Chinese blueprints. Worse, in 1990 and 1992, China provided Pakistan with nuclear-capable M-11 missiles that have a range of 186 miles. China reportedly has provided the technology for Pakistan to build a missile that could strike targets within a 360-mile range.
Outside the region, and of perhaps greater immediate significance to the United States, China has been assisting Middle Eastern states with missile and nuclear programs. In 1988, China sold Saudi Arabia 50 to 60 1,200-mile-range DF-3 missiles. China has provided ballistic missile technology to Iran as well as other lethal technologies. In 1996, Iran received China's 72-mile-range C-802 antiship missiles, which is a threat to U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf and potential source of know-how for building longer-range cruise missiles. China also is believed to have given Iran technology that could help that country's nuclear weapons program."
and jokers like this advice the GOTUS
Spreading Nuclear Instability to the Middle East
By helping Pakistan's nuclear program, China has spread instability outside of South Asia. <H3>To its credit, Pakistan thus far has expressed no inclination to proliferate nuclear technology further.</H3>
<small> Article written in 1998</small>
But the praise for Pakistan's nuclear achievement by radical Islamic leaders highlights fears of more "Islamic bombs." For example, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, spiritual leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, hailed Pakistan's nuclear tests as an "asset to the Arab and Muslim nations." Iran's foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, praised Pakistan's weapons achievement as a potential deterrent to Israel's presumed nuclear capability, and went on to say, "From all over the world, Muslims are happy that Pakistan has this capability." And Sheik Hayyan Idrisi of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque went so far as to proclaim that "The Pakistani nuclear bomb is the beginning of the resurgence of Islamic power."
Now there are too many skeletons that will come tumbling down or shall we say POP up like in the video of Thriller if everything is exposed.
It has to one day, Since it is not a myth. While the emperor will escape and survive (perhaps being a P5 member will give it some immunity