Pakistan has secured its nuclear weapons: Obama

[Neo]

Pakistan has secured its nuclear weapons: Obama

NEW YORK (April 07 2010): President Obama, underscoring the need for nuclear safety around the world, has said he is confident that Pakistan has secured its atomic weapons. "I feel confident that Pakistan has secured its nuclear weapons. I am concerned about nuclear security all around the world, not just in Pakistan but everywhere," he said in an interview with The New York Times published on Tuesday.

Pointedly asked what steps he had taken to ensure the safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons, Obama said he was not going to talk about the details of Islamabad's nuclear programme. The president comments came hours before he was set to unveil a new nuclear policy on Tuesday that officials said would reduce the role of atomic weapons in US national security strategy.

Obama's new nuclear posture comes two days before he signs a treaty with Russia to slash stockpiles of long-range nuclear warheads by a third, and less than a week before he hosts world leaders at a key nuclear summit in Washington. "We constantly have to find ways that we can further improve our approach," he said. "And as I said, right now, one of my biggest concerns has to do with the loose nuclear materials that are still floating out there.

It remains more likely that a threat arises because of some smuggled HEU or plutonium than that a terrorist organisation obtains a fully built nuclear weapon. "And so we've got to guard against that, and that's exactly why this nuclear summit is so important".

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?i...term=&supDate=

[Neo]

Pakistan’s nukes

Thursday, 08 Apr, 2010

Mr Obama has done well to at least discourage the word associations that continue to haunt this country’s international reputation. - Photo by AP. World

Obama limits US use of nuclear arms Obama limits US use of nuclear arms “I feel confident that Pakistan has secured its nuclear weapons. I am concerned about nuclear security all around the world, not just in Pakistan but everywhere,” President Obama answered in an interview with The New York Times.

The question: “Can you tell us if you now feel more assured than you were when you came to office, that [Pakistan’s nuclear weapons] are safe from Al Qaeda, from the Taliban?” While it is impossible to say if Mr Obama is in fact as ‘confident’ as he claimed he is about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, we are for several reasons relieved at the public line his administration has taken on this most sensitive of issues.

First, it gives Pakistan a chance to demonstrate that the problems in the past, highlighted grimly by the A.Q. Khan saga, have in fact been left behind and that the nuclear programme here has evolved and strengthened. Unfortunately, the word ‘proliferation’ has become a stick to beat Pakistan with and its mere mention puts Pakistan on the defensive and unable to talk about present-day issues. Unfortunate though it may be, it is often difficult to separate politics from security issues. If there is, in Pakistan’s case, a genuine and unique security issue, then it absolutely must be addressed. But Al Qaeda, Taliban and A.Q. Khan are often dragged into any conversation on Pakistan and its nuclear programme, making it impossible to separate genuine security concerns from ulterior strategic motives. So Mr Obama has done well to at least discourage the word associations that continue to haunt this country’s international reputation.

Second, it gives Pakistan a chance to talk about its own legitimate energy security needs. Because India has its own civil-nuclear deal with the US, it has become fashionable to assume that Pakistan wants one just because India has one. But energy security is of fundamental importance to the country’s future and the nuclear option could be a vital piece in the energy jigsaw that policymakers are trying to piece together for the decades ahead. At the moment, such a deal is clearly a non-starter. The US Congress wouldn’t approve it, the Nuclear Suppliers Group wouldn’t approve it and none of the other nuclear-power countries besides China would like the idea. But the possibility of a deal being reached even at some relatively distant point in the future will also remain a non-starter if Pakistan, terrorism/militancy and proliferation are always put in the same basket. Pakistanis should never be complacent about the country’s nuclear programme but neither do they deserve to be forever condemned for past mistakes and by exaggerated suspicions. The road to becoming a recognised and respected nuclear power is still a long way off, but at least the journey should be allowed to commence.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...ukes-840-hh-07

[Neo]

Pakistan's nuclear possibilities

EDITORIAL (April 11 2010): Importantly and for the first time, the United States has openly conceded the fact that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is completely secure and there is absolutely no possibility of it falling in wrong hands. And this perceptional change has come from none but President Obama.

Talking to the New York Times, on the eve of his departure for Prague where he would sign with Russia an agreement for bilateral reduction of nuclear weapons, he said 'he is confident Pakistan has secured its nuclear weapons'. Obviously, now that the reality about the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons has caught up with Washington one would hope that Prime Minister Gilani will have more receptive audience in the White House next week when he arrives to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, hosted by President Obama.

As a build-up for the expected request of US assistance the National Command Authority, in a recent meeting chaired by the prime minister, has sought international co-operation for nuclear power generation. Thirty-five years of experience of running nuclear power plants, highly-trained manpower and a well-established safety and security culture are some of the reasons cited in support of Pakistan's case for help and co-operation of international community and organisations.

It would be hazardous to be overtly optimistic about the American response but the balance of possibilities has apparently shifted in Pakistan's favour. And the one most important reason behind that tilt is President Obama's worldview on the thing nuclear, extensively spelt out in the Nuclear Posture Review issued by his administration early this week. He doesn't see a nuclear weapons-free world in the foreseeable future.

The review fails to bring out the presidential candidate Obama, as not only it retains justification for the United States to keep nuclear weapons, and over time make them more efficient, it also sets out quite a few new ground rules for other players in the game. For one, the United States will not nuke non-nuclear states even in the face of threats or use of some non-conventional weaponry like chemical or biological weapons.

But he refuses to accept the logic of no-first use - though US will use nuclear weapons only in "extreme circumstances". The admission of the Review that nuclear weapons are reality and are going to stay lends weight of logic for their possession, albeit vicariously, even by the nuclear weapons states who are still out of purview of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Pakistan is one such state.

Where the President Obama's worldview makes a departure from the Cold War nuclear policy and mindset of the United States is his conviction that instead of nuclear war between the States there can possibly be incidents of nuclear terrorism by violent extremists and nuclear proliferation to non-nuclear states.

"First, and for the first time, preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism is now at the top of America's nuclear agenda", he says, drawing Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to the centre stage. So next month when President Obama hosts the NPT Review conference it is very likely that Pakistan is invited to be the member of Treaty.

Pakistan would have no hesitation provided its status as nuclear-weapon state is accepted and India too signs up. And in the wake of that development the international community particularly the Nuclear Suppliers Group should agree to assist Pakistan in developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?i...term=&supDate=

[Neo]

Pakistan nuclear weapons at risk of theft by terrorists, US study warns

Pakistani PM attends Washington nuclear security summit and insists country has 'appropriate safeguard' for its arsenal

* Julian Borger in Washington
* guardian.co.uk, Monday 12 April 2010

Yousaf Raza Gilani and Barack Obama in Washington. Photograph: Getty Images

Pakistan yesterday came under increased pressure over its nuclear arsenal when a Harvard study warned of "a very real possibility" that its warheads could be stolen by terrorists.

The rising concern about poorly-guarded nuclear weapons and material was the subject of an extraordinary two-day summit which began in Washington yesterday. Last night, Ukraine became the latest country to volunteer to give up its stores of highly-enriched uranium (HEU), which can be used in weapons, and switch its research reactors to low-enriched uranium.

There was still considerable anxiety at the Nuclear Security Summit over the safety of more than 2,000 tons more HEU and weapons-grade plutonium stored in 40 countries. There were also persistent doubts over the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

Pakistan's prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, assured Barack Obama the country has an "appropriate safeguard" for its arsenal, understood to consist of 70-90 nuclear weapons.

However, a report by Harvard University's Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, titled Securing the Bomb 2010, said Pakistan's stockpile "faces a greater threat from Islamic extremists seeking nuclear weapons than any other nuclear stockpile on earth".

Experts said the danger was growing because of the arms race between Pakistan and India. The Institute for Science and International Security has reported that Pakistan's second nuclear reactor, built to produce plutonium for weapons, shows signs of starting operations, and a third is under construction.

At their White House meeting on Sunday, Obama pressed Gilani to end Pakistan's opposition to an international treaty that would ban the production of new fissile material for nuclear warheads, plutonium and highly enriched uranium (HEU), but the Pakistani leader showed no signs of bowing to the pressure, US officials said.

Pakistan's insistence that India reduces its stockpile first prevented talks on the fissile material cutoff treaty from getting under way in Geneva last year. Yesterday, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, added to the pressure on Pakistan by calling for talks at the multilateral conference on disarmament to start, warning that "nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats we face today".

Both the US and Britain have declared themselves satisfied with Pakistan's security measures for its nuclear weapons, despite the rise of the Pakistani Taliban and other extremist groups. But yesterday's Harvard report said there were serious grounds for concern.

"Despite extensive security measures, there is a very real possibility that sympathetic insiders might carry out or assist in a nuclear theft, or that a sophisticated outsider attack (possibly with insider help) could overwhelm the defences," the report said.

It also warned that weaknesses remained in measures Russia had taken in recent years to guard its nuclear stockpile, the world's largest.

The nuclear security summit, which began yesterday in Washington, brings together leaders and officials from 47 nations, with the aim of focusing global attention on the danger of nuclear terrorism. The summit will endorse Obama's goal of locking up the world's stockpiles of plutonium or HEU within four years.

The Harvard report warned that the world "is not yet on track" to meet that deadline. Its author, Matthew Bunn said: "Sustained White House leadership will be needed to overcome complacency and convince policymakers around the world to act."

As a contribution to the aims of the summit, the US and Russia are due to sign an agreement in Washington to take 34 tonnes of weapons-grade plutonium out of their reserve stockpiles and use it for the generation of nuclear power. Other leaders are being called on to make concrete pledges in the main session today.

Last week, Malaysia adopted much-delayed export controls to prevent its ports being used as channels for the black market in nuclear equipment. Last month, Chile shipped all the HEU from its research reactors to the US for safekeeping.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...security-fears

[Neo]

Pakistan preparing to expand nuclear production: New York Times

WASHINGTON (April 13 2010): Pakistan is gearing to expand production of nuclear weapons-grade fuel and blocking talks on a treaty that would halt global production of new nuclear material, the New York Times reported Monday.

Quoting a senior US official, the paper said President Barack Obama used a meeting Sunday with Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to "express disappointment" that the country was leading opposition to a treaty that would end production of new nuclear bomb fuel.

Pakistan is building two new reactors for making weapons-grade plutonium, and one plant for salvaging plutonium from old reactor fuel, the Times said as Obama prepared to open Monday an unprecedented nuclear security summit.

The 47-nation meeting is aimed at safeguarding unsecured uranium and separated plutonium stockpiles and averting the nightmare scenario of extremist groups acquiring nuclear weapons. Three months ago, according to the Times, American intelligence officials examining satellite photographs of Pakistani nuclear facilities saw the first wisps of steam from the cooling towers of a new nuclear reactor.

It was among the three plants under construction to make fuel for a second generation of nuclear arms, the report said. Pakistan has insisted it had no choice as a US nuclear deal with India signed during the administration of Obama's predecessor George W. Bush ended a long moratorium on providing New Delhi with the fuel and technology for desperately needed nuclear power plants.

Critics of the Indian nuclear deal say the agreement may free up older facilities that India can devote to making its own new generation of weapons, escalating a regional nuclear arms race.

Pakistan has been seeking a civilian nuclear deal along the lines of a landmark agreement that the United States struck with India in 2008. The South Asian rivals stunned the world in 1998 by carrying out nuclear tests. The United States has longstanding concerns about proliferation from Pakistan - and policymakers are said to have quietly drafted a crisis plan in case the nuclear arsenal falls out of government control.

The father of Pakistan's bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, has admitted leaking nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, although he later retracted his remarks. The level of separation between Pakistan's military and civilian nuclear programs also remains a matter of dispute. Pakistan returned to civilian rule in 2008 and President Asif Ali Zardari a year later handed over control of the nuclear program to Gilani.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?i...term=&supDate=

[Neo]

Gilani denies report Pakistan producing fuel for new weapons

Mon, 12 Apr 2010

Washington - Pakistani Prime Minister Raza Yousef Gilani denied a report Monday that Pakistan is running a new nuclear reactor to produce fuel for a second generation of nuclear weapons.

Gilani said in a CNN interview that the report in The New York Times was "not true" and that Pakistan was not competing with India on nuclear weapons.

According to the newspaper, Pakistan is blocking talks on an agreement to stop producing new nuclear material worldwide, and Obama used the meeting to "express disappointment" over this development.

The Times reported that US intelligence officials believe Pakistan is running a new nuclear reactor to produce fuel for a second generation of nuclear weapons - one of three such facilities planned.

Gilani and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are joining the 47-nation summit on Monday and Tuesday in Washington to discuss steps to secure nuclear material from terrorists.

India and Pakistan astonished the international intelligence community in the late 1990s by exploding nuclear bombs, setting off fears of proliferation of nuclear material into unstable hands.

Disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, for example, ran a black-market network that sold technology and designs for uranium enrichment centrifuges - building blocks for a nuclear-arsenal - and other technology to states like Libya, North Korea and Iran.

The India-Pakistan nuclear faceoff has long worried non- proliferation advocates. Ever since former president George W Bush pushed through a deal to lift a moratorium on providing India nuclear fuel and technology, Pakistan has argued that the agreement allowed India to use its older reactors to work on a new generation of nuclear weapons.

The India-Pakistan weapons race is not a subject of the two-day summit, but rather may be considered at the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) summit in New York in May. Neither India nor Pakistan have signed the NPT.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...w-weapons.html

[Neo]

Pakistan hits back at nuclear concerns

2010-04-13

Pakistan's prime minister on Monday defended his country as a responsible nuclear power, shooting down concerns at a major security summit that extremists could seize loose weapons.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who controls the Islamic world's only declared nuclear arsenal, rebuffed calls to halt production of fissile material and insisted that Pakistan needed a deterrent against historic rival India.

Instead, Gilani made a new pitch to the United States -- which relies on Pakistan in its campaign against Islamic extremists -- to support the blackout-plagued nation in developing civilian nuclear power.

"I assure you that Pakistan, as a responsible nuclear state and an emerging democracy, stands with the international community in its effort to make this world a better place to live in," Gilani told a roundtable with reporters.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who accompanied Gilani, said Pakistan had explained to the United States the three-layer security system it has put in place for its nuclear arsenal.

"We are confident that our system is second to none. It's world class," Qureshi said. "Fortunately there has been no incident."

Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, publicly confessed in 2004 that he shared atomic secrets with Iran, Libya and North Korea, although he later retracted his remarks.

The 73-year-old scientist -- revered by many Pakistanis -- was freed from house arrest last year but has to give 30 minutes prior notice to authorities if he wants to leave his house.

Asked if US investigators could have access to Khan, Gilani said "that chapter has been closed" and denied the scientist was "walking free," saying: "He is actively being regulated by the judiciary."

The United States is reported to have quietly set up an elite squad that could fly into Pakistan and attempt to secure its weapons if the government disintegrated.

John Brennan, the top anti-terrorism adviser to President Barack Obama, warned Monday that Al-Qaeda's interest in nuclear weapons was "strong" and said the risk of nuclear terrorism was "real," "serious" and "growing."

A study by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government said that Pakistan was one of the greatest worries for nuclear safety.

Pakistan's arsenal is heavily guarded, but the report said that the Khan case, pervasive corruption and high-profile attacks against military bases showed the risks.

"While Pakistani generals share the US concern over extremist threats to their nuclear stockpiles, their first concern is protecting these stocks from Indian strikes -- or American seizure," said the report, "Securing the Bomb 2010," led by Harvard professor Matthew Bunn.

A Washington research group, the Institute for Science and International Security, last month said satellite imagery showed steam coming from the Khushab site, a sign that Pakistan has started plutonium production from a second reactor.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he would use the two-day Washington summit to press for an international ban on the production of new fissile material for nuclear weapons.

A 65-nation conference in Geneva last year called for a treaty but Pakistan has been the leading opponent, fearing it would alter its strategic balance with India.

India and Pakistan, along with possibly Israel and North Korea, are the only states that continue to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons.

Gilani did not address the fissile material issue directly, saying only that Pakistan has discussed it with the United States.

"For a minimum deterrence, we have to have. That is our requirement," he said of nuclear material.

Gilani renewed calls for the United States to work with Pakistan on a civil nuclear agreement similar to one with India, noting that some Pakistanis spend hours each day without electricity in extremely hot weather.

"Pakistan rightfully expects the US to adopt non-discrimination in terms of a civil nuclear deal with Islamabad," Gilani said.

Cautious not to offend Pakistan, the Obama administration has not ruled out nuclear cooperation. But few US experts predict a deal anytime soon.

http://sify.com/news/pakistan-hits-b...ndacbdhii.html

[Neo]

Pakistan seeks equal access to civil nuclear technology

Monday, 12 Apr, 2010

WASHINGTON: Pakistan Monday urged non-discriminatory access to civil nuclear technology to meet the country's exponentially growing energy needs as it reaffirmed its firm commitment to nuclear security at a major summit of world leaders.

Spelling out its nuclear policy in a national statement at the Nuclear Security Summit, Pakistan welcomed US President Obama's call for security of nuclear material and hoped the summit would be a catalyst for fostering a nuclear security culture around the world.

“Pakistan has more than 35 years of experience in running nuclear power plants. With trained professional manpower and a strong nuclear safety and security culture, Pakistan fully qualifies for participation in civil nuclear cooperation at the international level,” Islamabad said in a statement.

Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani is heading the Pakistani delegation at the two-day summit.

“We urge all relevant forums to give Pakistan access to nuclear technology for peaceful uses, in a non-discriminatory manner, to meet its growing demand for energy,” the country informed the summit, being attended by top leaders of some 47 countries.

The statement expressed Pakistan's support for the renewed international interest in nuclear power generation to meet the challenge of climate change.

“As a country with advanced fuel cycle capability, Pakistan is in a position to provide nuclear fuel cycle services under IAEA safeguards, and to participate in any non-discriminatory nuclear fuel cycle assurance mechanism.”

On nuclear security, Islamabad said it “would continue to refine and modernize its technical and human resources and mechanisms on safety and security of nuclear weapons, nuclear materials, facilities, and assets.”

“Pakistan would cooperate with the global community in accordance with its national policies and requirements as well as international obligations.”

Islamabad informed the world leaders that its nuclear programme is security-driven with a policy of minimum credible deterrent but said it is against an open-ended arms race in South Asia.

It highlights the vital need for Pakistan and India to engage in a substantive sustained dialogue on all issues including nuclear CBMs.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...chnology-rs-04

[Neo]

Discriminatory Indo-US nuke deal forced Pakistan to accelerate its Atomic program

April 12, 2010

Pakistan’s Nuclear program is Bharat (aka India) specific. It was created in the aftermath of 1971 and stems out of the Pakistani Doctrine of “Never Again”. The Pakistani Nuclear program is defensive in nature and rivals the program in size with that of Britain and Israel. Pakistan was faced with a “do or die” situation and clandestinely built a program, and paid a heavy price for building its survival arsenal. Pakistan a founding member of SEATO and CENTO faced sanctions for a decade. Pakistan has been a US ally since 1947. It was rewarded for defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan (which led to the USSRs eventual implosion) by crippling laws that punished the Pakistani economy. Bharat (aka India) which for fifty years of its existence had sided with the USSR, voted against the US 95% of the time in the UN, and supported the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was rewarded with a Civilian Nuclear deal.

It was said that both countries had different histories. They forgot and contracted slective amnesia when reminded that Bharat had a history of being Anti-American and Pakistan had a history of being Pro-American.

Today, after bearing the brunt of the war on terror and facing 911 every day through US drone bombings–the Pakistanis are very suspicious of US short term and long term motives in West Asia. Pakistan are not emotional anymore.

Pakistan has faced blunt US threats from Richard Armitage in 2001 when he threatened to bomb Pakistan into the stone age. But this was not the first threat. Henry Kissing in 1979 threatened Bhutto to toe the US line or he would be made an example of. Six months later, when Bhutto refused to change his policies, riots were instigated using standard CIA manuals–and he was removed by a pro-American general and eventually executed.

Today, Pakistanis do not hold any false expectations from its relationship with the USA. Decisions are made to respond to American initiatives–but the national priorities and goals are not subject to the whimsical and ever changing moods of the resident of the White House, or the mobs that sometime overwhelm the US Congress.

It is not surprising, it was actually expected that the New York Times spout venom against Pakistan on the eve of the world Nuclear Summit. David Sanger is up to his own tricks again. The usual vitriol has started to flow again. On cue the Washington Post too will begin its usual rhetoric against Islamabad.

* Current US Administration accepts Pakistan as Nuclear state
* Appeasing India has been a US miscalculation

WASHINGTON — Three months ago, American intelligence officials examining satellite photographs of Pakistani nuclear facilities saw the first wisps of steam from the cooling towers of a new nuclear reactor. It was one of three plants being constructed to make fuel for a second generation of nuclear arms.

The message of those photos was clear: the country is getting ready to greatly expand its production of weapons-grade fuel.

The Pakistanis insist that they have no choice. A nuclear deal that India signed with the United States during the Bush administration ended a long moratorium on providing India with the fuel and technology for desperately needed nuclear power plants.

Now, as critics of the arrangement point out, the agreement frees up older facilities that India can devote to making its own new generation of weapons, escalating one arms race even as President Obama and President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia sign accords to shrink arsenals built during the cold war.

The Indian lobby is active again. This time

* Discrimintory Indo-US nuke deal forced Pakistan to accelerate its Atomic program.
* Without access to US Civilian Nuclear technology, Pakistan defensive posture dictates a response to the threats from Delhi.
* In response to 5 Indian divisions facing Pakistan, Islamabad is poised to greatly expand its production of weapons-grade fuel.
* Self Defense mechanisms, including 2nd strike capability are in place to respond to Indian threats of Cold War Strategy. (Rapid movement and destruction of Pakistan Armed Forces)
* Indian bluster and movement of Pakistan-specific forces and planes nearer the border forces Islamabad to build Pakistan’s 2nd generation weapons.
* The defensive and India-specific Paksitani nuclear weapons will be miniaturized, pre-assembled, and kept nearer the Indian border–thus increasing the risk of nuclear war.

Mr. Obama met with the leaders of India and Pakistan on Sunday, a day ahead of a two-day Washington gathering with 47 nations devoted to the question of how to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. In remarks to reporters about the summit meeting, Mr. Obama called the possibility of a terrorist organization obtaining a nuclear weapon represented “the single biggest threat to U.S. security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term.” The problem that India and Pakistan represent, though, is deliberately not on the meeting’s agenda. New York Times. Agenda of Nuclear Talks Leaves Out a New Threat

http://pakistanledger.com/

[Neo]

Prime Minister makes strong case for Pak-US civilian nuclear deal

WASHINGTON DC (April 13 2010): Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday made a strong case for US civilian nuclear co-operation with Pakistan and asked the Obama Administration to adopt a non-discriminatory approach in terms of giving Islamabad access to civilian nuclear technology. He argued that such a step would help make the existing Pakistan-US engagement more productive and result-oriented.

"We are satisfied with the outcome of recently concluded fourth round of Strategic Dialogue with the United States. I, however, believe that there is still the need and space for improving upon the existing level of our engagement to make it more result-oriented," he stated in an interaction with the American media.

The Pakistani leader spoke on the sidelines of a major two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by President Barack Obama, who held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Gilani on Sunday. "Pakistan rightfully expects the United States to adopt non-discrimination in terms of civil nuclear deal with Islamabad," Gilani emphasised.

The prime minister welcomed President Barack Obama's initiative of the Nuclear Security Summit to foster understanding of the need to make the world a safer place for future generations. "The objectives of nuclear non-proliferation, safety and security would be better served if the policy of non-discrimination is adopted across the globe for peaceful uses of nuclear energy".

In this context, he pointed out the worst ever energy crisis hitting Pakistan in face of its fast-expanding development requirements and said the issue has serious implications for the country's economy and consequent unbearable hardships for people who are having to brave 15 hours of power outages in over 45 degrees centigrade simmering temperatures.

"Our energy needs are growing with every passing day and we are already running against time to explore viable options to meet the energy demands for our socio-economic development. The civil nuclear power generation hence is an essential requirement of our national energy security strategy", the Prime Minister maintained. In answer to a question, Prime Minister Gilani said the A Q Khan chapter is closed and held out a firm assurance that Islamabad has an effective command and control structure which ensures multi-layered security of Pakistani installations, materials and assets. "Pakistan's nuclear capabilities are in safe hands," he declared.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?i...term=&supDate=