Pakistan concerned over reports of India’s new nuclear test
General Thursday, September 3rd, 2009Pakistan is concerned on reports that India is again preparing for a new nuclear test, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.
Pakistani Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit made the remarks at his weekly news briefing.
The spokesman said there are reports that India has a new nuclear test in the works, adding these reports are rather embarrassing to Pakistan. He said Pakistan is however steadfast on its policy of maintaining minimum defense deterrence and does not want arms race in the region.
A senior Indian scientist, K. Santanam, had recently revealed that the country’s 1998 test had not been as successful as previously claimed. But leading Pakistani physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy reportedly said that the admission was not an act of coming clear but an attempt by India’s nuclear establishment to press the case for new tests.
The recent United States statements on nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan and nuclear proliferation are quite baseless, Basit said, adding that Pakistan like any other responsible country is full-fledged alive to its responsibility.
Expressing concern over the release of Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that they were monitoring the situation very closely because U.S. still believed that Abdul Qadeer Khan poses a threat of nuclear proliferation.
A Pakistani court last week removed all restrictions on the movement of the father of the country’s nuclear program Abdul Qadeer Khan and allowed him to go anywhere as he wants. But the court restored the security protocol of the renowned nuclear scientist Wednesday after hearing intra-court appeal on the pleading by the Pakistani federal government. The government said that the restrictions are necessary for his own safety.
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on Sep 3 2009. Filed under