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“Covert” Nature of Past Nuclear Efforts May Have Led to Smuggling, Musharraf Says
In a CNN interview today, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf blamed any possible nuclear proliferation by Pakistani scientists in part on the past covert nature of Pakistan’s nuclear program (see GSN, Jan. 22). According to Musharraf, the previous secret nature of Pakistan’s nuclear program resulted in “a lot of authority and autonomy” given to the scientists and organizations involved. He also said that this was no longer the case. “If some of the irresponsible got involved and misused capabilities that is really a pity and that is what happened. So now that it [Pakistan’s nuclear capability] is overt, there is total custodial control and checks and balances introduced. It is not a possibility any more,” he said. Musharraf reiterated that any possible nuclear proliferation activities by Pakistani scientists occurred without the involvement of the government or the military, denying recent media reports that the former head of the Pakistani army authorized nuclear cooperation with Iran in the late 1980s. “This I know: There is no official of the state or government involved at all,” he said. Musharraf said that Pakistan’s investigation into the nuclear proliferation allegations is expected to be completed soon, “in a few weeks in fact.” He also promised that those found to have been involved in such activities would be punished. “Based on the result of investigation we will move against violators because they are enemies of the state,” Musharraf said. Even though those scientists involved in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program have been hailed for their efforts, Musharraf rejected that he would suffer political fallout from the investigation. “There won’t be any problem,” Musharraf said. “There are vested interests who want to undermine my authority, my position, the government’s position and cast us in a bad light — that we are some kind of rubber stamp of the U.S.. This is not the reality,” he added. Musharraf also said that while Pakistan is investigating allegations that its scientists were possibly involved in the spread of nuclear-related technologies, the problem was not Pakistan’s alone. “There is an underworld which is getting uncovered. An underworld of individuals and maybe some organizations and factories involved in the manufacture of refined items,” he said. “I would like to say there are European countries and individuals involved so let it not be said that there were only Pakistanis involved,” Musharraf added (CNN.com, Jan. 23).
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