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Pakistan accepted U.S. help on n-plants

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan accepted "non-intrusive" U.S. technical support after 9/11 for securing its nuclear facilities, officials here have said.

At the first briefing of its kind for Pakistani journalists by the Strategic Plans Division of the National Command Authority that oversees the nuclear and missile programmes, officials said the offer was made by then Secretary of State Colin Powell on a visit to Pakistan.

Pakistan accepted on the condition that it would "pick and choose" from the offered support, the Dawn reported on Wednesday.

The ongoing co-operation had "clear red lines," including on American visits to nuclear facilities, according to the report. The U.S. assistance is confined to equipment for security personnel at the nuclear sites such as metal detectors and helmets.

The issue has been a subject of speculation in the Pakistani press since Mr. Powell's visit in 2001. Pakistan's Foreign Minister then, Abdus Sattar, had said his Government had accepted Mr. Powell's offer "for security and protection of nuclear assets," and that Pakistani experts "would be apprised of the security measures being applied by the United States."

In April, the Foreign Office denied reports that Americans were guarding Pakistani nuclear facilities. The spokeswoman said Pakistan and the U.S. "have been engaged in wide-ranging regional security dialogue." As part of these exchanges, "we have also shared ideas and concepts on best practices concerning protection of sensitive nuclear material, technologies and facilities."

Factual presentation

A former diplomat present at Tuesday's briefing said the SPD decision to make " a factual presentation" to journalists was to dispel rumours about Pakistan's nuclear facilities in the media. The SPD officials talked about a whole range of issues at the briefing, all of it already in the public domain, he said.

The SDP officials - both military and civilian - reportedly emphasised three points: Pakistan had "fully institutionalised the system and nuclear assets are in safe hands," that "it was not in an arms race with any country" and that its defence policy was aimed at safeguarding the country's sovereignty.

Parrying questions from journalists about the steps Pakistan was taking to get a civilian nuclear deal from the U.S, similar to the India-U.S. deal, the officials said they were keenly watching the outcome of the India-U.S. agreement in the U.S. Congress, but were unsure if Pakistan could afford to make the required "compromises" if offered a similar deal.

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