Pakistani Analyst Defends Iran’s N-Right

Islamabad, Jan 31, IRNA – A senior Pakistani analyst said here Monday Iran has every right to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes under Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). In an interview with IRNA, Orya Maqbool Jan said that Iran has as much right to acquire nuclear technology as any other country. He demanded that the western countries should not adopt contradictory policies towards Iran’s nuclear program. “Iran is on the right side,” said the columnist. Orya Maqb pointed out that Israel is developing a military oriented nuclear program but the west is only pressurizing Iran which is unfair and unjustified. “Nobody is worried about the 70 atomic bombs of Israel,” he noted. The analyst was of the view that Iran is being pressurized only because the country is against the existence of Zionist regime and follows an independent policy. He said that Iranians have constantly expressed their determination to continue their peaceful nuclear policy and would not bow down to western pressures. The intellectual strongly believed that west cannot achieve its ulterior motives against Iran. He welcomed the statement of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran is ready to sit down with world powers for talks over its peaceful nuclear program. However, Orya Maqbool Jan pointed out that the west will not sit with Iran because they know that they cannot defeat Iran in talks. The columnist expressing his views said the government of Iran is being supported by their people and the nations like Iran cannot be pressurized by imposing sanctions. The European Union has recently banned imports of oil from Iran and agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank, joining the United States in a new round of measures. Orya Maqbool Jan is a renowned columnist, poet, who writes Urdu columns. He has received numerous national awards, including the best Urdu columnist in 2004./end