Britain helped Pakistan develop bomb
gunther:
Your points are well taken. As for your first point, No I don't know what would happen if the Arabs get a hold of the bomb nor I do I know how the US/Israel alliance will react if the Middle Eastern countries go nuclear. All I know is the present situation clearly shows the necessity and importance of a complete ban on all nuclear weapons without any exceptions which what India has been advocating all along and nobody wanted to listen as some of are under the delusion that what is good for the goose is not good for the gander,go figure. This is thing is going to get ugly and way out of hand if the present situation is allowed to continue is all I am saying.
Now to get back on your question about the sanctions,I don't know how effective the U.S sanctions alone would be but a multi lateral sanction could affect the parties concerned very severely but then again this might make them more defiant and make the situation even worse.
Now here is a bit of news which is interesting and ironical at the same time,no??
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[Source London The Daily Telegraph-For Private use only]
By Julian West in Islamabad and Sebastien Berger
TONY Benn admitted yesterday that Labour sold equipment to Pakistan in the Seventies which helped it to develop a nuclear weapons system.
As Pakistan detonated its sixth nuclear bomb, the veteran MP, who was Energy Secretary at the time, confirmed that equipment used to produce weapons-grade uranium was sold when it was "common knowledge" that Pakistan was trying to build a bomb.
"Of course I regret it was allowed," he said. "But at the time when one really tried to have effective non-proliferation controls, traditional trading interests intervened."
The disclosure about Britain's contribution to Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme was made as yesterday's test sparked renewed condemnation from world leaders and fresh calls to end the escalating arms race in South Asia. The device, reported as between 12 and 18 kilotonnes, was exploded yesterday at 1pm Pakistan time in the Chagai Hills of the Baluchistan desert, bordering Afghanistan, near the site of Pakistan's first test on Thursday.
Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, said foreign ministers of the eight leading nations would meet in London on June 12 to co-ordinate efforts to bring nuclear activities in India and Pakistan under international supervision "and encourage them to address roots of the tension" that had led to three wars since 1947.
The latest Pakistani test was announced by Shamshad Ahmad, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary. He said: "There was no release of radioactivity."
He confirmed earlier claims by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the architect of Pakistan's nuclear programme, that the latest devices were intended for missile warheads. Pakistan has indicated that it now intends to begin upgrading its recently-tested Ghauri medium-range missile by fitting nuclear warheads.
In an interview in a Pakistani newspaper, Dr Khan disclosed details of last week's tests, for the first time. One blast, he said, was""a bomb twice the size" of the one dropped on Hiroshima. Pakistan has rejected an offer by India of a "no first use treaty" and instead proposed a non-aggression treaty.
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