Pakistan's nuclear proliferation caused "nervous" fears for US, Russia; declassified NSA document shows

Washington DC [US], December 26 (ANI): Newly declassified documents from the US National Security Archive revealed that Pakistan's nuclear proliferation was a significant concern for both the US and Russia, with leaders expressing "nervous" fears about the country's atomic stability. 

Conversations between former US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed deep concerns over Pakistan's nuclear proliferation activities, with both leaders expressing that the situation made them "nervous", particularly regarding links to Iran's nuclear programme and the AQ Khan network.

The documents, released this week by the National Security Archive following a Freedom of Information lawsuit, include verbatim records of meetings and calls between the two leaders from 2001 to 2008.

They highlight shared anxieties over Pakistan's nuclear arsenal under military ruler Pervez Musharraf. 

In a key exchange during an Oval Office meeting in 2005, Putin raised evidence of Pakistani-origin uranium found in Iranian centrifuges. He questioned Western tolerance despite its checkered record of proliferation. 

"But it's not clear what the labs (Iran) have, where they are. Cooperation with Pakistan still exists," Putin said.

Bush responded, "I talked to Musharraf about that. I told him we're worried about transfers to Iran and North Korea. They put AQ Khan in jail, and some of his buddies under house arrest. We want to know what they said. I keep reminding Musharraf of that. Either he's getting nothing, or he's not being forthcoming."

Putin highlighted worries about uranium of Pakistani origin found in Iranian centrifuges and potential links to illicit proliferation networks, noting, "As far as I understand, they found uranium of Pakistani origin in the centrifuges."

Bush acknowledged Pakistan's role in illicit transfers, expressing frustration over incomplete disclosures from Pakistani authorities. , stating, "Yes, the stuff the Iranians forgot to tell the IAEA about. That's a violation."

"It was of Pakistani origin. That makes me nervous," Putin said, to which Bush replied, "It makes us nervous, too."

Meanwhile, in their meeting in 2001, in Slovenia, Putin described Pakistan bluntly, noting that the country was "just a junta" with nuclear weapons and had "no democracy". 

"I am concerned about Pakistan. It is just a junta with nuclear weapons. It is no democracy, yet the West makes no criticism of it. Should talk about it," Putin said. 

Both leaders shared concerns about Pakistan's internal situation, political instability, and nuclear command system, fearing technology could fall into the wrong hands.

The transcripts underscore persistent worries about Pakistan and its architect of the nuclear programme, AQ Khan's proliferation network, which supplied nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. 

Last month, India hit out at Pakistan over reports of its alleged nuclear testing activities as revealed by US President Donald Trump, saying such "clandestine and illegal" conduct is consistent with Islamabad's long history of nuclear proliferation and smuggling networks.

Commenting on Trump's recent revelation that Pakistan has been secretly testing nuclear weapons, Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal noted that India has consistently flagged these concerns to the international community, referring to Pakistan's record in these matters.

"Clandestine and illegal nuclear activities are in keeping with Pakistan's history, which is centred around decades of smuggling, export control violations, secret partnerships, AQ Khan network and further proliferation," the MEA Spokesperson said.

"India has always drawn the attention of the international community to these aspects of Pakistan's record," he added. (ANI)