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Musharraf’s threat to use nukes ‘highly irresponsible’: Benazir |
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Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said that President Musharraf’s threat to use nuclear weapons against India in the event of a war was “highly irresponsible.”
K.C. Pant, India’s key negotiator for talks with Kashmiri separatist groups who recently visited Pakistan for a SAARC conference, however, ruled out the possibility of war with Pakistan, saying the world community would not allow hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbours. In an interview to Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, Musharraf warned if the pressure on Pakistan became too great then “as a last resort, the atom bomb is also possible.”
He said India had a “superpower obsession” and was energetically arming itself. Both countries tested nuclear weapons in 1998, which was also the first time Pakistan admitted its nuclear capability. Since mid-December, India and Pakistan have remained on full military alert with hundreds of thousands of troops deployed along their border and diplomatic ties cut to a minimum. Musharraf’s unusually aggressive comment came as he announced plans to hold a referendum to confirm his Presidency for the next five years.
Benazir Bhutto, however, said the “whole purpose of nuclear weapons is to deter war.” “Anyone who has seen pictures of Hiroshima can never use weapons that self destruct not only on opponents but one’s own people,” she said. The lives of the people of Pakistan were most precious to her and “it was the job of leadership to prevent war and promote peace so that the people could live in safety and security.”
She renewed her call for India and Pakistan to negotiate a peace pact while acknowledging they have different perceptions on the Kashmir dispute.
“Given his dramatic turnabout from patron saint of terrorism to the frontline leader against terror, there is a genuine concern that the General (Musharraf) can do another turnabout as world attention turns to the Middle East,” she said. Pant, speaking to the press in Pakistan before his return to India, said: “As both States have a nuclear arsenal, I don’t think they will fight any war.” Pant said the two countries would have to work on creating a congenial atmosphere for talks. “There is no change in the position even today. Conditions have to be created for a meaningful and result-oriented dialogue.”
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