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'Pak. missile n- programme indigenous'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD APRIL 2. The Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri, has asserted that as a responsible country Pakistan did not indulge in ``nuclear and missile proliferation''.

Responding to a point of order raised by a Member in the Senate today on the decision of the U.S. to impose a two-year trade ban on Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), the country's largest nuclear facility, Mr. Kasuri denied the U.S.' charge. Not just the KRL but Pakistan's entire nuclear and missile programmes were ``totally indigenous''.

Pakistan was a responsible country and realised the sensitivity of "its friends" towards proliferation. The U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, had phoned up the President, Pervez Musharraf, last week to inform him about the imposition of sanctions on the KRL. Gen. Musharraf "protested" the decision and Pakistan had told the U.S. that it did not export any nuclear material to any country, Mr. Kasuri said.

Meanwhile, Washington said on Tuesday it had imposed penalties on Pakistan because of "missile-related transfer" from North Korea and the sanctions had nothing to do with the transfer of nuclear-related material from Pakistan to North Korea. Pakistani papers said the State Department spokesperson, Richard Boucher, was commenting on reports that on March 24 Washington imposed penalties on Pakistan as it had transferred nuclear material to North Korea.

The timing of the announcement from Washington against KRL, which is accused of buying North Korean No Dong missiles and selling nuclear technology to Pyongyang, has intrigued observers here.

According to Stratfor "details of the accusation made by a senior U.S. administration official, cited by the Washington Times on March 31, have technical inconsistencies, however. Given the timing of the sanctions, it appears the elements in the Bush administration are trying to paint Pakistan and North Korea with the same brush — laying the groundwork for potential action against both nations in the post-Iraq war era."

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