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Pakistan, India to resume stalled dialogue on Feb 16

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Jan 27, IRNA - Pakistan and India will commence composite 
dialogue from February 16 in Islamabad, Foreign Office Spokesman Masud
Khan at weekly news briefing here on Tuesday. 
On 16th and 17th of next month, Director Generals/Joint Secretaries
of the Foreign Ministries of the two countries will hold talks, Khan 
said. 
Foreign Secretaries of the two countries will meet on 18th of next 
moth to discuss the issues involved, he added. 
He also told reporters that Pakistan will remain a nuclear weapons 
state and continue to enhance its capability to maintain a competitive
edge. 
Responding to questions about debriefings of scientists and former 
administrators, he said Pakistan has to demonstrate to the 
international community that no pilferage or leakage will ever take 
place from Pakistan. 
"Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state." 
The spokesman, however, regretted that in the past focus has been 
on Pakistan alone. 
He said reports appearing in the media clearly indicated 
involvement of companies and individuals from Europe, Persian Gulf, 
North America and other parts of the world. 
"Focus on Pakistan is lopsided as there is an international black 
market and we have a collective responsibility to eliminate it." 
The spokesman said debriefings are taking place as International 
Atomic Energy Agency had sought Pakistan`s cooperation. He, however, 
pointed out that there was no intrusive involvement of the agency. 
He said the investigations are aimed at determining if these 
persons, motivated by personal gains or ambitions, transferred 
sensitive information or technology to other countries through black 
market. 
Masood Khan said investigations are also aimed at looking into any 
possible financial dimension to the issue. 
The spokesman stated that the investigations are being held into 
past. "If something happened, it happened long ago." 
He also stressed that since 1998, there is very strong command and 
control system and stringent export control regime. 
"We have firm custodial controls for our strategic assets. An 
intelligence organisation is monitoring all activities while there are
several rings of security to ward off any possibility of proliferation
or leakage." 
To a question, the spokesman said there was no pressure of any sort
on Pakistan for debriefing of its nuclear scientists and Pakistan was 
doing it on its own. 
"If anyone has breached the trust, then state is the victim and the
violators will have to face the law," he maintained. 
He said President Pervez Musharraf had clearly stated that no 
government in the past had proliferated and no future government will 
do so. "There is no evidence to establish that any military or 
civilian institution was involved in proliferation." 
Asked to comment on "massive" arms purchases by India, the 
spokesman said that there should be a restraint in defence purchases 
and spendings and there should be a conventional balance between 
Pakistan and India. 
"There must be a strategic restraint regime between the two 
countries," said the spokesman. 
TSH/MM/212 
End