A strange paralysis

The United States seems clear that North Korea and Pakistan have indulged in irresponsibly dangerous proliferation by transferring to each o...

The United States seems clear that North Korea and Pakistan have indulged in irresponsibly dangerous proliferation by transferring to each other what each had in return for what the other could give 8212; ballistic missiles to Pakistan, and nuclear weapons technology and highly enriched uranium making capacity to North Korea.

The Ghauri missile launched by Pakistan in April 1998, capable of hitting targets deep in India, was an obviously fully tested and developed ballistic missile provided by North Korea, possibly based on Chinese knowhow.

The question that may haunt the international community in future, if the present is not handled firmly, would be when Islamabad would transfer nuclear weapons technology to countries with which it shares religious or political interests.

But the US administration, which promised 8216;pre-emptive8217; counter-proliferation, seems to be paralysed in the face of incontrovertible evidence that cries out for implementing its own laws, besides international norms and rules.

What is even more incomprehensible is the attitude that transfer of technology and material for nuclear weapons has already taken place, and nothing is required to be done since this was in the past. A crime has been committed: but don8217;t punish the criminal because he has promised not to do it in future, Washington seems to be telling the world.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell has stated that he had raised the issue repeatedly with the US president8217;s 8216;friend8217; General Musharraf, who had assured him on more than one occasion that 8216;there are no further contacts8217;. In fact he has gone as far as to say 8216;we did not discuss the past8217;, confirming that the administration was purposely turning a blind eye to the blatant proliferation.

These developments have a severe negative impact on peace and stability in East Asia as well as South Asia. The US responses to North Korea8217;s declaration to its senior officials in early October have been extremely mild. This only implies that USA8217;s focus on one aspect of its interests 8212;counter-terrorism 8212; does not allow it to deal with a second challenge at the same time. This is strange for a superpower that claims a global role. Meanwhile, massive economic assistance to Pakistan in the name of cooperation in the war against terrorism, a war in which it is less than enthusiastic, and which it refuses to even scale down across the border in India, only implies that it benefits from such unacceptable behaviour.

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History seems to be repeating itself. It may be recalled that senior Pakistanis have been claiming that Washington accepted it would not question Pakistan8217;s nuclear weapons programme in return for being a 8216;frontline state8217; in the early 1980s. And now it is a frontline state again!