Nuclear Energy Pakistan

Pakistani government officials are said to be proposing a swap that would send U.S.-made nuclear reactors to their country in exchange for safeguards to assure that the country's nuclear program is used only for peaceful purposes. Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Asian subcommittee, said such an agreement could head off a showdown later this year on a cutoff of U.S. aid to Pakistan over its failure to comply with nuclear non-proliferation requirements.

Breaking ranks with its Western allies on the issue of nuclear proliferation in the Third World, France on Wednesday approved the sale of a nuclear power plant to Pakistan, a country many experts believe has an active nuclear weapons development program.

There is "convincing evidence" that Pakistan has finally developed nuclear weapons, leading to the possibility of a nuclear arms race with its longtime enemy India, according to a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published Tuesday. It said the evidence includes production of highly enriched uranium, a key component of atomic weapons, and European reports of a clandestine effort by Pakistan officials to smuggle nuclear components out of West Germany, the report said.

India's Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto argued over Pakistan's nuclear program and the disputed Kashmir region, illustrating some of the problems left unresolved by the first visit to Pakistan by an Indian leader in nearly 30 years. The disagreements aired by the leaders of the regional rivals at a joint news conference in Islamabad added a slightly sour note to Gandhi's two-day visit, intended to advance an effort they launched in December to improve relations.

Breaking ranks with its Western allies on the issue of nuclear proliferation in the Third World, France on Wednesday approved the sale of a nuclear power plant to Pakistan, a country many experts believe has an active nuclear weapons development program.

There is "convincing evidence" that Pakistan has finally developed nuclear weapons, leading to the possibility of a nuclear arms race with its longtime enemy India, according to a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published Tuesday. It said the evidence includes production of highly enriched uranium, a key component of atomic weapons, and European reports of a clandestine effort by Pakistan officials to smuggle nuclear components out of West Germany, the report said.