President Pervez Musharraf has said that Pakistan will, under no circumstances, permit foreign inspectors to enter the country and monitor its nuclear weapons or civil nuclear facilities.
"This is a very sensitive issue. Would any other nuclear power allow its sensitive installations to be inspected? Why should Pakistan be expected to allow anybody to inspect?" he said in an interview with the Financial Times.
President Musharraf said: "We are not hiding anything what is the need of any inspection? What for?" he said: "We will co-operate with any organisation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), or any body. But don't treat us as if we do not know what we are doing.
"We are doing everything according to international standards," he said.
Musharraf said Pakistan's investigation into Dr A. Q. Khan proliferation ring had not uncovered any evidence that other countries had received nuclear secrets from Pakistan.
To a question, President Musharraf denied that nuclear weapons technology had been exchanged for North Korean ballistic missile technology.
"Whatever we bought from North Korea is with money," he said.
General Musharraf said Pakistan had no intention of freezing its nuclear weapons programme. It was self-sufficient and would not require the import of more material or designs from abroad.
"We will never stop our nuclear and missile programme," he said.
"That is our vital national interest. It is totally indigenous now. Whatever had to be imported and procured has been obtained," he said.
President Musharraf said Pakistan would not try to match India's nuclear weapons development, but said that in the next few weeks, it would test-fire its Shaheen II, a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres.
"We are not interested in competing with India," he said. "If they want to reach 5,000 kilometres or have intercontinental ballistic missiles, we are not interested in those. We are only interested in our own defence," he added.
President Musharraf said that A.Q. Khan was a personal hero and a hero to the nation for having provided Pakistan with its nuclear deterrent.
"I have been meeting Dr A.Q. Khan. I have had dinners with him and I held him in the highest esteem. Who in Pakistan did not hold him in high esteem," he said.
General Musharraf said Dr A.Q. Khan and his six associates had acted without official authorisation or knowledge.
He said Pakistan's nuclear programme was not under the aegis of the military.
"No sir, it (Pakistan's nuclear programme) is not, under the aegis of the military. It never was and it is not now," Musharraf said.
Comments
Comments are closed.