Pak accuses world powers of enabling India to purse n-prog

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Dec 10 (PTI) Pakistan Thursday accused some
world powers of enabling India to pursue its nuclear programme
to the detriment of regional peace and stability and Islamabad
would take all possible steps to protect its security
interests.

World powers have a significant responsibility in
ensuring peace in the region but some of them had "contributed
negatively in enabling India to pursue its ambitious nuclear
programme more rapidly to the detriment of peace and stability
in South Asi", Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said.
Though Basit did not name the concerned world powers,
he was apparently referring to the civil nuclear deal
concluded with India by the US.
Pakistan has for long insisted that it should be given
a similar deal by Western powers.
Pakistan will take "every legitimate step to protect
its security interests" and will not "compromise on
maintaining a credible minimum nuclear deterrent", Basit told
a weekly news briefing.
He was responding to a question on the possible
implications of defence and nuclear deals concluded during
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Russia.
Basit said Pakistan has a "legitimate interest in
ensuring that the strategic balance in South Asia is
maintained under all circumstances".
"This is all the more necessary due to jingoistic
statements from New Delhi about waging limited wars based on
the dangerously naive cold start strategy."

Pakistan had recently protested Indian Army chief Gen
Deepak Kapoor's comments that a limited war under a nuclear
overhang was a possibility.
Replying to another question, Basit placed the onus
for the resumption of the composite dialogue process, stalled
since last year's Mumbai attacks, on India.
Acknowledging that there has been no progress in the
dialogue in the recent past, he said Pakistan wanted
"meaningful and result-oriented" parleys with India.
"The ball is in India's court," he said.
He added that "there is no back channel diplomacy"
going on between India and Pakistan.
Asked about conflicting statements by Pakistani
leaders about India's alleged involvement in fomenting unrest
in Balochistan province, Basit said Islamabad did not believe
in "blame games or point securing" and had no intention of
dealing with such an issue through the media.
The alleged evidence of India's involvement would be
produced by Pakistan at the "appropriate forum in the best
interests of the country", he added.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani took up the issue of
Balochistan during his meeting with his Indian counterpart at
Sharm el-Sheikh in July.
Though Pakistani leaders like Gilani and Interior
Minister Rehman Malik have been saying that the government has
evidence of India's alleged involvement in Balochistan,
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi yesterday said the
information was "insufficient" and more material is needed to
"plausibly argue" Pakistan's case. PTI RHL