WASHINGTON, Aug 22: Pakistan remains committed to nonproliferation and has not provided any assistance to Iran’s nuclear programme, the Pakistan embassy said on Friday.
The embassy’s statement follows a string of stories in US newspapers alleging Pakistan of helping Iran build a nuclear bomb.
The latest allegation appeared in a Washington Post column by its veteran diplomatic correspondent Jim Hoagland who includes Pakistan in “a new category of mercenary rogue states.” Such states, he says, have flouted international controls on dangerous weapons by selling “nuclear technology, missiles, chemical arms and biological instruments.”
Pakistan and North Korea, he says, “head this infamous list, with Libya, Iran and others vying for positions on it.”
Quoting an old US intelligence report he says that Iran’s nuclear structure was modelled after Pakistan’s successful campaign to buy technology and hardware piece by piece from Western and Asian companies.
“Iran is diligently following Pakistan’s path. Only a concerted international effort can impede Tehran’s ayatollahs” from making nuclear weapons, says Mr Hoagland.
He urges Russia and China to join international efforts to curb the nuclear programmes of North Korea, Pakistan and Iran and defines them as “globe-endangering” problems.
“We are not surprised by Mr Jim Hoagland’s unsubstantiated allegation regarding Pakistan’s assistance for Iran’s nuclear programme. Mr Hoagland seems to have made a habit of castigating and berating Pakistan on one pretext or on another,” says Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s deputy chief of mission in Washington.
“Such allegations are completely false, irresponsible and obviously motivated to portray Pakistan negatively. Pakistan remains committed to its policy that it would not proliferate any sensitive technologies. This commitment was reaffirmed at the highest level. Pakistan has a strong export control regime in place and Pakistan’s record in this regard is impeccable,” he added.
Mr Sadiq said that Pakistan has always maintained that if anybody has proof regarding alleged proliferation, it should be brought forth.
He regrets that although this “challenge has never been taken up or met, unsubstantiated innuendoes continue.”
