Global Security Newswire

Pakistan intends to buy from China two 1,000-megawatt atomic energy stations to help address national power demands, the Express Tribune reported last week (see GSN, Sept. 16).

China National Nuclear and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission would move under a probable agreement to cooperatively settle related planning details, obtained records indicate. The sides would then draw up terms for construction of the two facilities, referred to as Karachi Nuclear Power Plant 2 and Karachi Nuclear Power Plant 3 (Zafar Bhutta, Express Tribune, Nov. 11).

A Chinese Foreign Ministry representative said on Monday he had no knowledge of such a plan, Times of India reported.

"May be you have more information than I have," said Liu Weimin, the ministry official. Beijing has previously disavowed knowledge of atomic dealings with Pakistan, only to disclose them later, according to the Times (Saibal Dasgupta, Times of India, Nov. 14).