Support claimed in US for Pakistan’s case on N-power plants
By Ihtasham ul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Nov 23: Official circles here are pressing Pakistan’s case that the United States should treat India and Pakistan on a par in helping them meet their growing energy needs.
And it is being claimed here that several US think-tanks and nuclear-related bodies are stressing the need for addressing Pakistan’s grievances in this respect.
Informed sources told Dawn here on Wednesday that there was a growing realization in the Bush administration as well that Pakistan needed to be offered the much sought after nuclear cooperation to help it generate 8,800 MW of electricity by 2030 by accepting its “safeguards and non-proliferation assurances”.
This view has been bolstered by the fact that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has already been extending such cooperation to Pakistan after satisfying itself that the country meets its safeguard requirement.
Pakistan has conveyed to the US and European countries that the public perception of IAEA as just being a ‘nuclear watchdog’ needed to be corrected and its increasing role in the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology needed to be re-emphasized.
The sources said that Pakistan would welcome investment in the nuclear power sector and has proposed the establishment of “Nuclear Power Parks” for facilitating building of nuclear power plants by suppliers and contractors, or even as equity partners.
In this behalf, Pakistan has also accepted to build “proliferation resistant nuclear power plants” as proposed by the IAEA, sources said.
“Now when the United States has decided to help India produce 40,000 MW of nuclear energy by 2040, we are being given to understand that Pakistan’s longer term ‘Energy Security Plan’ for producing 8800 MW of energy will also be officially supported soon by the Americans,” a source said.
Pakistan has largely succeeded in removing the “security concerns” of the US government and that was why a number of US think tanks as well as various nuclear-related agencies have started supporting Pakistan over the issue, the source added.
Pakistan was recently informed that due to “legislative bottlenecks” the Bush administration could not so far succeed in firming up the case for offering Islamabad civilian nuclear cooperation like that of India.
The way the US government spearheaded a campaign to help secure Pakistan roughly $6 billion from international donors and bilateral creditors for reconstruction, the source added, time was not very far when Islamabad would also be offered cooperation in establishing 10 to 13 new nuclear power plants in the country. Pakistan has based its case for acquiring nuclear energy for peaceful uses on three counts — it does not have enough oil resources, it wants to contain global warming and that it will ensure security of supplies.
The authorities in Islamabad recently conveyed to the US authorities yet again that there should be no discrimination between India and Pakistan over the nuclear issue, especially when all the required assurances had been given about the safety and security of the proposed nuclear power plants.
The government has also informed the United States that the IAEA-assisted programme to set up a nuclear desalination plant for Karachi Nuclear Power Plant will have a capacity of 1600 cubic meters per day and will be operational by the year 2007.
“Pakistan deserves nuclear technology provisions on a par with India on the basis of its relationship with the US and on the basis of its energy needs to sustain economic growth and, finally, on the basis of having a 33-year record of safe nuclear power plant operations,” another source said.
