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DATE=11/8/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PAK / NUCLEAR (L-O)
NUMBER=2-255936
BYLINE=AYAZ GUL
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Pakistan's military government says it will 
not sign the global nuclear test ban treaty unless 
sanctions against it are removed.  As Ayaz Gul reports 
from Islamabad, the country's Foreign Minister says 
Pakistan will not be the first to conduct a nuclear 
test in the region.
TEXT:  Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar says 
his country will continue its efforts to contain 
nuclear dangers in South Asia.  But he says Pakistan 
will not abandon its nuclear option.
            // SATTAR ACT //
      Minimum credible deterrence will remain our 
      policy.  We will not participate in build-up of 
      strategic arsenals.  We cannot afford it.  Nor 
      is it necessary.
            // END ACT //
Pakistan and India conducted nuclear tests last year, 
triggering international economic sanctions against 
the two rival nations.  Further sanctions were imposed 
last month after the military ousted the 
democratically elected government in Pakistan.
Pakistan wants all sanctions lifted before it signs 
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.  India has not 
signed the pact.
But Foreign Minister Sattar says the country's 
military government -- in his words -- remains 
sensitive to the world community's concerns for 
nuclear non-proliferation.  He promises Pakistan will 
not be the first to carry out more nuclear tests.
            // SATTAR ACT TWO //
      We will observe the spirit of the treaty.  We 
      will not be the first to conduct further tests.  
      We have no intention to take any provocative 
      step on the nuclear issue in general and C-T-B-T 
      in particular.
            // END ACT //
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sattar accuses India of 
resisting moves to improve relations between the two 
countries.
            // SATTAR ACT //
      Pakistan wants to improve relations, but India 
      does not give that prospect a chance.  Instead 
      of resolving differences on basis of law and 
      justice it seeks to exploit power disparity to 
      impose unilateral preferences.
            // END ACT //
India and Pakistan have fought two wars since gaining 
independence from Britain in 1947.  Military forces of 
the two countries regularly clash along their disputed 
border in the Kashmir region.  India controls two-
thirds of Kashmir and Pakistan the rest.   (SIGNED)
NEB/AG/RAE
08-Nov-1999 11:05 AM EDT (08-Nov-1999 1605 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.