NEW DELHI, 7 February 2004 — India called yesterday for “more responsible behavior” by nuclear-capable states after the architect of rival Pakistan’s nuclear program confessed to leaking weapons secrets.
Pakistan’s presidential pardon to scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan has not closed the proliferation issue, Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said.
“It appears to me that things will not stop here because it is not merely an internal matter of Pakistan but one which concerns the international community,” Sinha told a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
Nuclear issues “will have to be debated in the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and elsewhere and be resolved so that we have more responsible behavior from countries which have nuclear capability”, Sinha said.
Khan on Wednesday admitted leaking secrets and begged for forgiveness following a lengthy investigation into the alleged transfer of nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday pardoned Khan, calling him a “national hero” for bringing the bomb to Pakistan, seen as a vital part of the country’s defenses against India.
India and Pakistan declared themselves nuclear powers in May 1998 after conducting bomb tests within days of each other. The neighbors have been moving to mend ties since April last year.
Straw, who is on a three-day visit to India, said Britain looked “to all countries to observe their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty”. Neither Pakistan nor India is signatory to the treaty.
