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Legislation Would Limit U.S. Aid to Pakistan for Failure to Increase Cooperation in Khan Investigation By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — A bill introduced late last month in the U.S. House of Representatives would limit U.S. aid to Pakistan if Islamabad fails to sufficiently help U.S. efforts to investigate the international nuclear black market formerly headed by top Pakistani nuclear weapons scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan (see GSN, July 26). The Nuclear Black Market Elimination Act would limit U.S. aid to Pakistan to 75 percent of a year’s allotted funds unless the president certified to Congress that Pakistan was “fully sharing” all relevant information to the international nuclear network and had provided U.S. investigators with full access to Khan and his associates. The bill would also require certification that Pakistan had “verifiably halted” any nuclear- and missile-related cooperation with other countries before receiving full U.S. aid. The aid restriction could be waived if it were found to be in the interest of national security interest and determined to help increase Pakistani cooperation in efforts to investigate the nuclear network. The bill would also provide the president with the authority to impose sanctions against any foreign entity found to have provided enrichment or reprocessing technology to a country determined to be seeking nuclear weapons or that has not provided the International Atomic Energy Agency with the authority to conduct more intrusive nuclear monitoring. The sanctions envisioned in the bill would prevent the targeted entity from engaging in transactions with any U.S. entity for a period of at least three years. Representative Tom Lantos (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, introduced the bill on July 22. The bill’s four co-sponsors include Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who was one of the main authors of the Syria Accountability Act, which imposed sanctions against Damascus for failing to cease its suspected efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, May 12). Khan confessed early this year to transferring Pakistani nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea; and there is concern that other countries may have also been recipients. To date, the Bush administration has shown little interest in punishing Pakistan for the illicit transfers, supporting instead the assertions by Pakistani leaders that the smuggling occurred without official approval. U.S. lawmakers, though, have criticized Islamabad for failing to provide the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency with full access to Khan and his associates to aid efforts to further investigate the network. A Democratic congressional staff member said today that while the bill has yet to be brought to the White House’s attention, he expected the administration’s reaction to be “negative.” While denying that the bill specifically targeted Pakistan, the staff member acknowledged the key role of Pakistani nuclear scientists in the international network. The staff member also suggested, though, that the section related to Pakistan could be later removed from the bill. “If they were allowing full access to Khan … then there would be no need for that provision,” the staff member said. The Pakistani Embassy in Washington did not return calls for comment. South Asian expert Michael Krepon, president emeritus of the Henry L. Stimson Center, today said that the bill would likely be considered as a “slap in the face” in Pakistan and would not result in increased cooperation. If U.S. lawmakers “feel compelled to send messages to Pakistan,” Krepon said, “I don’t think this is the best way to do this.” Krepon also said that he would be “very much surprised” if Pakistan made Khan available to U.S. officials for interrogation, noting that the Pakistani public would likely see such a move as “disrespectful.” Khan has long been held in high esteem in Pakistan for his role as the “father” of the country’s nuclear weapons program. The bill was referred to the House International Relations Committee, but little is expected to happen before the 2004 session ends on Oct. 1. The staff member said the bill would probably be reintroduced during the next congressional session, adding that an effort was being made to add co-sponsors to the legislation. While the proposal would restrict U.S. aid to Pakistan if it were found to be hindering efforts to investigate the nuclear black market, there is little support within Congress for directly cutting U.S. aid to Islamabad, according to the staff member. The White House’s fiscal 2005 budget request contains the first allotment of a planned five-year, $3 billion economic and security aid package to Pakistan. Noting the belief among lawmakers that Pakistan was “crucial” to the U.S. war on terrorism, the staff member said that the planned aid package would be unaffected unless Pakistan “does something stupid.” As examples, the staff member cited theoretical revelations of continuing transfers of Pakistani nuclear technology or official cooperation with the suspected nuclear weapons efforts of Iran and North Korea. “There’s a point where you can’t ignore particular activity,” the staff member said.
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