The Hindu : International : Bill against F-16 sale expected next week

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Saturday, Apr 09, 2005

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International

Bill against F-16 sale expected next week

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, APRIL 8. The Ackerman Bill, blocking the sale of F-16s to Pakistan, is expected to be introduced next week in the House of Representatives and the draft of the Bill by the Democratic Congressman, Gary Ackerman of New York, makes it sufficiently clear that Congress would have to be satisfied that a number of stipulations have been met with before military assistance to Islamabad begins.

The draft bill speaks of a Presidential certification to appropriate Congressional committees on a number of fronts: that Islamabad has provided Washington with "unrestricted opportunities" to interview the Pakistan nuclear scientist, A.Q.Khan, with respect to his illegal nuclear proliferation network; that Pakistan has complied with requests for assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the proliferation network, including provision of documents, materials, equipment and access to individuals.

The President has also to certify to the House International Relations and the Appropriations Committees and the Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees that the Government has determined the full scope of the activities and participants of the illegal nuclear proliferation network; the extent of this network's connection with the al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden; and in conjunction with the IAEA has confirmed that the illegal nuclear proliferation network has been completely dismantled.

In the Pakistan Proliferation Accountability Act of 2005 that is to be introduced, Congress has listed several findings, including that Dr. Khan established and operated an illegal network that sold nuclear weapons and related technologies to a number of countries, including North Korea, Libya and Iran; that Washington still does not know the extent of Dr. Khan's activities."

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