Documents prove China-Pak link

Researchers who made the documents public said, exactly what the US government knew about Chinese nuclear sharing with Pakistan remains secret.

But the newly released cables and memos provide specific details on how US officials looked at the China-Pakistani nuclear relationship, how they persistently discouraged it and how Chinese diplomats denied any involvement, said William Burr of the National Security Archive.

The material obtained by the Archive under the US Freedom of Information Act run from 1965 through 1997 and discusses US concerns about China-Pakistan security and military cooperation dating back to the mid 1960s.

The documents’ release come at a time of great interest in proliferation because of revelations by Pakistani scientist Dr A.Q. Khan, who recently admitted to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

Burr said that until the revelations from the Libyan files,‘‘no evidence had surfaced that conclusively linked China with Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme.’’ — (Reuters)