DATE=2/3/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PAKISTAN - NUCLEAR (S-L COMBO)
NUMBER=2-258766
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Pakistan's military government says it has
established a command and control authority for its
nuclear weapons program. VOA's Jim Teeple reports the
unexpected announcement followed a series of high-
level meetings by senior Pakistani officials over the
past several days.
Text: A brief statement issued in Islamabad says a
National Command Authority has been established which
will control all policies concerning nuclear weapons.
The statement says Pakistan's National Security
Council headed by General Pervez Musharraf gave final
approval late Wednesday to setting up the nuclear
Authority which will have a strategic plans division
and two committees.
Pakistan, the Muslim world's only declared nuclear
power, tested nuclear devices in May of 1998 following
similar tests by India.
Both countries are under international pressure to
sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which bans all
nuclear testing, but both have said they will only do
so after developing a national consensus on the issue.
//END SHORT CR HERE//
// REST OPT FOR LONG CR //
In addition to testing nuclear devices, both Pakistan
and India have also tested mid-range ballistic
missiles believed to be capable of carrying nuclear
warheads.
Last year India announced it had drafted a nuclear
weapons doctrine based on a "no first-use policy,"
regarding nuclear weapons. The Indian draft policy
also calls for the establishment of a land air and
sea-based missile defense system.
President Clinton is scheduled to visit India and
Bangladesh next month and U-S officials say, while in
India, he will discuss nuclear non-proliferation
issues. The White House has left open the possibility
that the president may also visit Pakistan.
A Foreign Ministry statement issued in Islamabad says
it would be "regrettable" if Mr. Clinton does not come
to Pakistan. Relations between the United States and
Pakistan have been strained ever since Pakistan's
military seized power last October and also by reports
of links between Pakistan's military and Kashmiri
separatist militants who hijacked an Indian Airlines
plane in December. (Signed)
neb/jlt/plm
03-Feb-2000 06:33 AM EDT (03-Feb-2000 1133 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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