Terrorists Cannot Get Pakistani Nukes, PM Says

Pakistan’s prime minister yesterday said his country’s nuclear-weapon management systems would prevent terrorists from coming close to the weapons, the Press Trust of India reported (see GSN, Sept. 2).

The Saturday bombing of a Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed more than 50 people, was part of a terrorist strategy to draw attention to Pakistan’s possession of nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told journalists.  He stressed that Pakistan’s system of oversight would keep terrorists away from the nuclear arsenal (see GSN, Sept. 18; Press Trust of India I/News Today, Sept. 21).

Meanwhile, Pakistan said Friday it intended to fund the construction of new nuclear power stations.

Gilani created a panel to formulate procedures for purchasing reactors and a satellite communications system.  The committee expects to "work out the modalities and financial arrangements before a formal decision is made on the purchase of nuclear energy plants and (a) satellite communication system," Pakistan’s government said in a statement (Press Trust of India II/Yahoo!News, Sept. 19).

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