Musharraf: Pakistan Will Not Give Up Nuclear Weapons

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf used a visit Wednesday to the Khan Research Laboratories to renew his commitment to nuclear weapons and praise employees at the facility once headed by the scientist believed to be behind the international nuclear black market (see GSN, April 19).

Nuclear weapons are needed as a military deterrent, and Pakistan would not tolerate any pressures to disarm, Musharraf told scientists, engineers and other staff at the nuclear facility, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The personnel at Khan Research Laboratories have Pakistan’s gratitude for helping strengthen the nation’s security, Musharraf said.

Founder Abdul Qadeer Khan is known as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program. Despite Khan’s apparent involvement in the international nuclear network, Pakistan remains on the front line of the fight against nuclear proliferation, Musharraf said (Xinhua, April 22).

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