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Pakistan Nets U.S. Technology for Nuclear Arsenal
Seeking to update its nuclear weapon arsenal, Pakistan may have illicitly purchased high-technology, U.S.-made equipment, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday (see GSN, Sept. 15, 2004). U.S. investigators looking into the case, however, have been hindered by a lack of Pakistani cooperation and resistance within some U.S. agencies, which value Islamabad’s help in fighting terrorism, according the Times. “This is an age-old problem with Pakistan and the U.S. Other priorities always trump the United States from coming down hard on Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation. And it goes back 15 to 20 years,” said David Albright, director of the Institute for Science and International Security. At issue is evidence that Pakistan has acquired advanced technology in a new effort that began in early 2003. Among other types of equipment, investigators are examining the sale of oscilloscopes from an Oregon firm to Pakistan through a South African salesman. The United States has prosecuted former Israeli military officer Asher Karni for orchestrating the deal and has banned a Pakistani resident, Humayun Khan, from conducting business in the United States for six months, the Times reported (see GSN, Feb. 20, 2004). Khan denied any wrongdoing in an interview and said he had cooperated extensively with U.S. investigators. The equipment, he said, had been ordered by someone else, shipped to his office and intercepted along the way. “It’s very tragic,” he said. “You don’t know where these things are landing. They come through and they vanish” (Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times, March 26)
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