Author:
Publication: Dawn, Karachi
Date: August 3, 2000
ISLAMABAD, Aug 03: The
government of Pakistan is to allow the export of radioactive material and
equipment for nuclear reactors, in apparent breach of recently drafted
guidelines. The news surprised and confused US officials, who said
it appeared to undermine much of the recent progress made in talks on introducing
greater controls on nuclear materials. In a full-page newspaper advertisement
the Pakistani commerce ministry has published an application form for the
export of 11 radioactive substances, including depleted uranium, enriched
uranium, plutonium and tritium, and 17 types of equipment, including nuclear
power reactors, nuclear research reactors and reactor control systems.
Would-be exporters, who
have to pay up to 2,100 dollars in application fees, must declare that
the sale is for peaceful purposes only and the material will not be re-exported.
They must reveal the source of the material or equipment, supply an end-user
certificate, and obtain a "no-objection certificate" from the government.
Although almost all nuclear material is held by the government, there are
some private contractors. "This is a fulfillment of our commitment
to transparency," Javed Jabbar, the information minister, said yesterday
(weds). "There is absolutely no scope left for any kind of misuse
or pilferage or illegal export of any substance. We are doing it
only in order to be a good nuclear citizen."
He said Pakistan had
exported no nuclear material in the past and had no immediate plans for
exports now. Ishfaq Ahmed, the head of the Pakistani atomic energy
commission, said the export of fissionable material, including enriched
uranium and plutonium, was banned but other nuclear material exports would
be considered. His statement contradicted the advertisement's suggestion
that enriched uranium and plutonium could be exported.
"We made a commitment
to the international community that we would put in a place a system to
exercise controls on nuclear exports and that is what this is," he said.
A US state department official said: "This is not exactly what the US had
in mind when we talked to them about nuclear controls."
Another, engaged in monitoring
Pakistan's nuclear programme, said Islamabad only two had drawn up export
control guidelines weeks ago, and the advertisement seemed to contradict
them. "Up to now the Pakistanis have not supported the idea of making
money out of selling this stuff," the official said. "We're still
trying to figure out what all this new stuff means." Pakistan's newest
nuclear reactor went operational last month. The 300MW plant at Chasma,
in Punjab, was built with Chinese help. Another on the same site
should be ready within 10 years.
The country's first plant,
a 125MW reactor in Karachi, began operations in 1971. Pakistan also
operates a research reactor at Khushab, near Lahore, also built with Chinese
help. It produces enough weapons-grade plutonium for five nuclear
warheads every year, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
It has at least two uranium enrichment plants and two plutonium reprocessing
plants.
The decision to invite
nuclear exports comes as the government struggles to revive the economy.
With 38bn dollars in foreign debt still to be paid, it must raise revenue
quickly. "The purpose of this is very clear: it is to earn much-needed
money," a former army chief, General Mirza Aslam Beg, said. "It shows
we have enough material to maintain our low-level nuclear deterrence and
so much in surplus that we can sell it in the open market. It is
a respectable way of earning money." (Copyright Guardian News Service)