Posted on 07/17/2004 9:12:32 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Pakistan bought missile technology from NKorea: Bhutto
1 hour, 47 minutes ago
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| Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said in an interview with a Japanese newspaper Pakistan bought long-range missile technology from North Korea (news - web sites) following a visit she made to Pyongyang in 1993(AFP/File/Raveendran ) |
TOKYO, (AFP) - Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said in an interview with a Japanese newspaper published Sunday that Pakistan bought long-range missile technology from North Korea (news - web sites) following a visit she made to Pyongyang in 1993.
AFP/File Photo
But in the interview in London with the Asahi Shimbun, she denied suspicions that Pakistan provided the Stalinist state with nuclear arms technology in exchange for the missile expertise.
"Through my visit to North Korea in December 1993, we managed to obtain long-range missile technology," Bhutto was quoted as saying in a Japanese-language translation.
Asahi said that the original English text of the interview was not immediately available.
"We did not obtain them in exchange for nuclear technology. We bought them with money," she said.
But the former premier added she did not approve of missile development on the basis of the North Korean technology.
It is widely believed that a series of Pakistan's Ghauri missiles are based on North Korea's Nodong missile.
Bhutto, who served as premier from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993-1996, left Pakistan in 1999 after she was convicted of corruption and other charges. She lives in exile in London.
She told Sky News earlier this month she was confident of clearing her name over corruption charges and refused to rule out a return to politics in her homeland.
Bhutto told Asahi that she had not approved of any sales of nuclear technology while in office.
The Pakistani government announced in February that Pakistani nuclear expert Abdul Qadeer Khan had personally sold nuclear secrets to North Korea, Iran and Libya through a nuclear black market.
But the government denied its involvement in the sales.
Khan, a one-time national hero credited with making Pakistan a nuclear power, has admitted selling nuclear secrets abroad but was pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf.
Ping!
Nothing new in this -the Indians&Israelis have been saying this for light years-how could a country that does'nt make toothpaste churn out atleast 6different categories of ballistic missiles at in less than 10years(I don't think even the US&Soviet Union had come close).They just bought/buy Chinese&North Korean missiles ,paint them green&name it after some thug who invaded medieval India.The Chinese sold them their first missiles (M-11&Haft series) to tie down India-but with the growth of the Chinese economy &better ties with the US,these ties were rolled back in the mid 1990s.Now its mainly North Korea-they get nuke tech for all this-which is facilitated by China.
The slight problem was nobody(in Washington or beyond) listened to what Israel&India had to say till sept 11th.
DUH NO suprise there Madame PM Buttaro
Everybody knew that
So did Madam BB, the sweetheart of liberals around the world trade some nuclear tech for some NK missiles?
""We did not obtain them in exchange for nuclear technology. We bought them with money," she said.
"But the former premier added she did not approve of missile development on the basis of the North Korean technology.
"It is widely believed that a series of Pakistan's Ghauri missiles are based on North Korea's Nodong missile. "
Based purely upon her family's legacy, you would expect her to be the best choice to lead a pro-Western, modernized, liberal-in the best sense of the word-regime that is very supportive of United States foreign policy in Southern Asia.
On the other hand, based upon her two stints as president of Pakistan, I don't think that you could fully trust her with another go of it.
She proved to be just as bad as her successor, Nawaz Sharif-if not worse-when it came to appeasing radical Islamists-who now enjoy the benefits of a huge megaphone in the nominally independent Pakistani parliament-and placating rogue regimes like North Korea and China in return for cold, hard currency.
It's definitely a dilemma.
peace loving women. loyal to their partners. /sarcasm off
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