Alleging that Khan is a "loose nuke scientist with proven ability to sell the worst weapons to the worst people", Congressman Jane Harman said on Thursday on the House floor that his legislation in this regard provides a path for the Zardari government to do the right thing.
Amidst growing Congressional concern over the safety and security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, US Senator Thomas R Carperas said that "preventing Pakistan's nuclear weapons and technology from falling into the wrong hands should remain top priority." Carperas chairs the Senate Subcommittee on International Security -- an appendage of the larger Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
With Pakistan moving towards tactical nuclear weapons, there is an increasingly higher risk of nuclear theft, a US think-tank report has warned ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington later this month.
Iran could have a nuclear bomb by 2010, a leading international think-tank has warned. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Iran will amass enough low-enriched uranium this year which could put it on course to build a nuke weapon by the end of the next year, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Siegfried Hecker, the co-director for the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, told a Senate Sub Committee on Appropriations dealing with Energy, "India does not view itself as a proliferator but as a legitimate nuclear weapons state." "Indians are actually significantly more capable in nuclear energy technology -- and I believe it will be in our benefit to have nuclear cooperation for nuclear energy with India," Hecker told the Senate.
A nuclear scientist and a chemical engineer, Dr Sethna was pioneer in establishing India's first reprocessing plant in 1959. India's first nuclear test was possible because of the Plutonium from this plant when the country was under tremendous pressure to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty by the United States.
The historic Indo-United States civilian nuclear agreement is on the right track, even as New Delhi has to complete a few formalities in this regard, said a top US diplomat. "It (nuke deal) is going very well, Senator. There are still a couple of steps that the Indians have to take to fully implement that agreement," Ambassador Robert Blake, the Obama nominee for the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, said.
As key world capitals scrutinise the Nuclear Liability Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, for word on how the new legislation would affect potential civil nuclear agreements with India, a senior Union minister has said that private suppliers could still sign agreements with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India clearly stating that their responsibility ended with the handover of equipment and other material to the operator.
Describing it as a personal victory of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before the visit of US President Barack Obama to India, American media on Thursday said the passage of the Nuclear Liability bill would pave the way for much needed foreign investment in the crucial atomic energy sector of the country.
The Civil Nuclear Liability Bill is likely to come up for consideration in Parliament on Wednesday
Even as it gasped for breath, American insurance giant AIG was lobbying the United States Congress hard to get the Indo-US civil nuclear energy deal cleared, reports ProPublica.org.
External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said the challenges of terrorism and nuclear proliferation were inter-connected and 'alarming aspect' was the linkages that radical terror groups have forged with 'a few nuclear scientists'.
America's ability to deal with a nuclear attack has been eroded over the years and the country is woefully unprepared for any kind of nuclear attack, a Pentagon report has suggested.
More than a billion people around the world could face starvation if a nuclear war breaks out between India and Pakistan, according to a new report which said the "nuclear famine" will be an "unprecedented" disaster that would bring an end to modern civilisation.
An Iranian nuclear scientist who had sought refuge in the Pakistani embassy compound in Washington after an apparent defection gone wrong is on his way home and has threatened to reveal full details of his 'abduction' by the Central Intelligence Agency."My abduction is a detailed story and I will reveal the details once I am back in my beloved homeland," Shahram Amiri, 35, was quoted as saying.
Ahmed filed an application seeking details about the controversial and much talked about Indo-US nuclear deal as there were apprehensions regarding the sovereignty of the country.
An Indo-US working group comprising leading nuclear non-proliferation and foreign policy experts has urged both Washington and New Delhi to agree in principle to bring India into the export control groups that are part of the non-proliferation system.
As India scalps its third nuclear deal this month, the vindication and the victory cannot hide the fact that the all-powerful Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which met in Christchurch, New Zealand last week, failed to dissuade China from supplying two nuclear power reactors to Pakistan in pursuance of two that had earlier been supplied.
The US has sought more information from China on its agreement to supply two nuclear reactors to Pakistan, saying the deal would need an agreement of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. "We as a first step are looking for more information from China as to what it is potentially proposing," State Department spokesman P J Crowley told media-persons at his daily press briefing.
Contrary to the scenario in 1998 when the Indian nuclear tests invited sanctions from Washington, there was a concerted effort on the part of Richard Nixon administration, led by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, for a low-key response to India's "peaceful" nuclear explosion, the newly-released documents said.
The year 2007 did not turn out to be much different than 2006 in that much of the time was spent on figuring out whether Washington and New Delhi will come to terms with the so-called 123 Agreement that would formalise the Henry J Hyde Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act that the President George W Bush signed into law in the closing days of 2006.
Pakistan interrogating businessman over nuke links: report
At the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul the focus is on countering nuclear terrorism, strengthening nuclear security and ensuring that nuclear material does not fall in the wrong hands.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented India's Action Taken Report at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul on Tuesday morning. This is what he said:
The crucial joint session of Pakistan Parliament that will endorse new terms of engagement with the United States began in Islamabad on Tuesday, following a string of crises, including the November 26 strike by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which took relations to an all-time low. The joint session of the Senate and National Assembly, summoned by President Asif Ali Zardari, will debate the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Saturday embarked on a four-day visit to Iran during which its controversial nuclear energy programme and the proposed IPI gas pipeline project are expected to figure prominently in the bilateral talks.
The state electoral rolls can be revised only by the end of January, he told NDTV 24X7.
The nuclear issue is believed to have come up in context of the country's growing energy needs for which India is in the process of finalising an atomic agreement with the US.
Ahead of the Non Proliferation Treaty review conference, the United States on Friday said the Indo-US civil nuclear deal has not weakened the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the pact comes with a number of 'transparency mechanisms.'
"Al Qaeda is especially notable for its longstanding interest in weapons-usable nuclear material and the requisite expertise that would allow it to develop a yield-producing improvised nuclear device," said John Brennan, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Counter-terrorism and Homeland Security, on Monday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to raise pitch at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington for strong commitments by individual countries and firm responses by international community against proliferation, amid fears about terrorists gaining access to atomic material.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday embarked on a visit to the United States to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, where he is expected to pitch for firm response to the challenges of proliferation and the possibility of terrorists gaining access to nuclear material. During the eight-day visit, Dr Singh will also travel to Brazil to attend the Brazil-Russia-India-China and India-Brazil-South Africa summits.
In his Nuclear Posture Review to be released on Tuesday, Obama has however rejected the proposal that the sole purpose of nuclear arms is deterrence.
Pakistan has reportedly entered into a civil nuclear deal with China for setting up two nuclear power stations of 640 megawatts in Chashma.
Pakistan has failed to secure a clear commitment for its much sought-after civil nuclear deal from the United States, which has decided to help in upgrading three of its thermal power plants.
Notwithstanding India's reservations, the US said on Tuesday that it would "consider" Pakistan's request for a civil nuclear deal as it wanted to help the country meet its immediate and long-term energy needs. Ahead of the crucial bilateral strategic dialogue between the US and Pakistan on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that the issue of energy would be one of the subjects of discussion but refused to pre-judge the outcome of the talks.
"What is the need for such a legislation if the public sector and the government will be the only nuclear operators? What is the purpose of this law or of putting a cap on compensation if it is the government which has to pay?" a senior BJP MP said.The BJP fears that once this Bill is passed the government may allow private players later by effecting an amendment only regarding entry of private operators while leaving the Rs 500 crore compensation cap intact.
As part of government's efforts to reach out to the Bharatiya Janata Party over the nuclear liability bill, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon met senior leaders of the main opposition party on Wednesday, to allay their apprehensions but failed to convince them.
Saying the CPI-M has nuked the farmers in Nandigram and the UPA government, LK Advani says the NDA will raise the Nandigram issue in Parliament.
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