12 February 2004	Thursday	20 Zilhaj 1424

STRASBOURG, Feb 11: The European Union's Irish presidency on Wednesday urged Pakistan, India and Israel to sign "unconditionally" the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

Addressing the European Parliament, Ireland's Europe Minister Dick Roche welcomed the accession to the treaty by Cuba and East Timor in the past two years, which he said brought it closer to covering the whole world.

"However, there are three countries, India, Israel and Pakistan, that remain outside the regime and we continue to call upon them to accede unconditionally to the NPT as non-nuclear weapon states," he said.

"The EU has repeatedly stated that the NPT is the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime and the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament," Mr Roche added.

The union's External Relations Commissioner, Chris Patten, expressed concern at last week's admission by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan of his involvement in trading in nuclear information.

"Recent revelations on the proliferation of nuclear weapons technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea have highlighted the importance of maintaining and strengthening effective controls," he said in a speech at the Strasbourg assembly. -AFP