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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kumar who wrote (45427)	1/2/2004 9:55:57 PM
From: NickSE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

India has to be scared with the recent attempts on Musharraf. They know if the radicals take him down, there's a chance, albeit small, they could overthrow the government. Would India rather face the radicals with nuclear capability or face them without it through bi-lateral disarmament. Aint gonna happen in my lifetime. In this instance, US will not get what it wants. US to negotiate presence in Pak nuclear facilities deepikaglobal.com Washington, Jan 2 (UNI) The brief detention and questioning late last month of the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme, Abdul Qadeer Khan, makes the top echelons of the country's nuclear establishment no longer exempt from scrutiny and gives Washington the ability to monitor Pakistan, according to US geopolitical analysts. Abdul Qadeer Khan was questioned about the transfer of nuclear technology to Iran. ''This suggests that Islamabad is under extreme pressure from Washington to plug the hole that has allowed the proliferation of nuclear technology,'' the analysts at Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) said in a South Asia situation report. ''This will lead to the United States acquiring the ability to monitor the Pakistani nuclear programme and likely will lead to increased problems for President Pervez Musharraf on the home front. The fact that Khan has been questioned will provide Washington with a major lever in its efforts to contain the proliferation of nuclear technology.'' Qadeer Khan had restrictions imposed on his movements and was questioned December 22 about supplying technology to Iran's nuclear program. There are reports that US intelligence officials are participating in the interrogation of Khan, Stratfor said. Given that Pakistan, which has been able to prevent Khan from being subjected to any sort of investigation, now is having to question him suggests that Islamabad is under intense pressure from Washington to plug the leak within Pakistan's nuclear establishment, it said. ''This development likely will provide the United States with some level of access and monitoring of Pakistani nuclear sites. How well such a deal is managed for public consumption will determine the level of problems it will create for President Pervez Musharraf on the domestic front.'' The investigation of Khan could allow Washington to curb the possible flow of technology to other states seeking to become nuclear powers, as well as to transnational militant non-state actors such as al Qaeda, Stratfor added. The revelations about Pakistan's assistance to Iran's nuclear program came to light after Tehran granted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to its documents and facilities. Not only was Pakistan's presence uncovered in the signature design of the centrifuge, but Tehran also handed over a list of six scientists -- two of them Pakistani -- to the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency, Stratfor said. Because Pakistan is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the IAEA could not officially do anything about the issue, it added.

To: kumar who wrote (45427)	1/3/2004 12:39:03 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50167

SAARC states agree on free trade zone * Kasuri to announce details of agreement today * India proposes single currency, economic union for SAARC * FO spokesman says focus on conflict-resolution in immediate future <<We are moving forward like anyone else.. the region has greatest of intellect and ability to be creative..>> By Shaukat Piracha and Shahzad Raza ISLAMABAD: Foreign secretaries from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on Friday agreed to create a regional free trade area. The Standing Committee of the SAARC foreign secretaries approved the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) framework agreement and recommended that the foreign ministers sign the agreement during the summit. The committee had not been able to agree on a draft till Thursday evening as its chairman, Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar, had said that the least developed countries in SAARC, particularly Bangladesh, had some problems with SAFTA. Mr Khokhar did not give the deal’s details and said Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri would elaborate today (Saturday) at a press conference. However, addressing a special briefing on the first day’s proceedings of the SAARC Council of Ministers here, Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan said Mr Khokhar presented a report in which an agreement was reached to have a SAARC social charter signed at the summit, the text of additional protocol to the SAARC Convention on Suppression of Terrorism finalised and the SAFTA agreement draft cleared. “The committee recommended that the SAARC foreign ministers sign these agreements during the summit,” Mr Khan added. The spokesman said in Friday’s session that the Indian side proposed a single currency and economic union for the SAARC region. “This is a good idea and must be pursued. But in the immediate future, we must focus on conflict-resolution for moving towards economic union,” he said. Mr Khan, however, said a step-by-step approach was needed as it (an economic union) was a premature idea. He said India had made no request so far for a bilateral meeting between Pakistani leaders and the Indian prime minister. “There should be engagement between the leaders at the highest level. They should go into substance and resolve issues,” he added. The Council of Ministers also reviewed the progress on the SAARC food security reserves. It also approved recommendations by the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA). It was also decided that the SAARC finance ministers would monitor poverty alleviation. The FO spokesman said the SAARC foreign ministers held two meetings on Friday. He said the signing of an additional protocol against terror financing would augur well for regional cooperation and added that the definition of terrorism was not discussed. To Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha’s suggestion of making the ceasefire at the Line of Control permanent, Mr Khan said Pakistan had made the unilateral offer with the expectation that the truce would be permanent. “The ceasefire is holding. It is good”, he added. He said there should a comprehensive engagement between the two countries leading to resolution of disputes in the region. Meanwhile, Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha also confirmed that SAARC countries had agreed to resolve their differences that were hindering a free trade zone in South Asia. “If only we would permit regional stability and cooperation to empower the poor of our countries, the extraordinary productive energies of the one and a half billion people of this region will be set free for the grand march of our economic and social development,” he said while speaking at a symposium on regional cooperation of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Commenting on relations between Pakistan and India, he said there were no “readymade solutions” to what has kept the two countries from coming together. “If Pakistan can find within itself the strength and wisdom to change its current approach towards India, there are immense benefits that it can derive as a transit route for the movement of energy, goods and people,” Sinha said. He said only closer economic integration could help end decades of mistrust. “They can help resolve our differences in a way that old hostility or new distrust never can.”