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Secret Saudi-Pak pact on nuclear co-op, claims report
Washington, Oct 22: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have reached a secret agreement on cooperation to develop a Saudi nuclear bomb, a media report said here.
Washington, Oct 22: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have reached a secret agreement on cooperation to develop a Saudi nuclear bomb, a media report said here.
The secret nuclear pact was agreed upon at the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's two-day Pakistan visit which concluded late Sunday night, said the report.
Quoting an "unimpeachable", ranking Pakistani source, who is also a "knowledgeable insider", the report said the two countries concluded a secret agreement on cooperation to forge a Saudi nuclear bomb.
"It will be vehemently denied by both countries but future events will confirm that Pakistan has agreed to provide Saudi Arabia with the wherewithal for a nuclear deterrent," said the source. Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler Abdul Aziz and several Cabinet ministers were in Islamabad for a "lightning and hastily arranged" state visit, it claimed.
The pro-American Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan, who is next in line to succeed to the throne after Abdul Aziz, was not part of the delegation, it said.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf met Abdullah at the airport and saw him off Sunday night with a 21-gun salute.
On Monday, Mohammed Sadiq, Pakistan's Deputy Chief of Mission here said the report about Pakistan and Saudi Arabia reaching agreement on nuclear cooperation was "totally wrong".
"This is totally against our policy. Pakistan would never proliferate its nuclear technology. It's a very clear policy," Sadiq said. "This (nuclear cooperation) was not even discussed in the talks we held with the Saudi's in Islamabad this week. It was not even on the agenda. It is out of question," he said.
Denials of any secret nuclear agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the source said, "must be seen in the same context as Iranian denials about its own nuclear weapons plans."
Pakistan considers Saudi Arabia as its benefactor and spiritual head. Besides getting substantial economic aid, Islamabad receives about a billion dollars worth of oil free annually from the Gulf country.
Media reports in Pakistan said Saudi Arabia was interested in buying remote-controlled, pilotless planes, armoured personnel carriers and other military equipment from Islamabad. Bureau Report
Quoting an "unimpeachable", ranking Pakistani source, who is also a "knowledgeable insider", the report said the two countries concluded a secret agreement on cooperation to forge a Saudi nuclear bomb.
"It will be vehemently denied by both countries but future events will confirm that Pakistan has agreed to provide Saudi Arabia with the wherewithal for a nuclear deterrent," said the source. Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler Abdul Aziz and several Cabinet ministers were in Islamabad for a "lightning and hastily arranged" state visit, it claimed.
The pro-American Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan, who is next in line to succeed to the throne after Abdul Aziz, was not part of the delegation, it said.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf met Abdullah at the airport and saw him off Sunday night with a 21-gun salute.
On Monday, Mohammed Sadiq, Pakistan's Deputy Chief of Mission here said the report about Pakistan and Saudi Arabia reaching agreement on nuclear cooperation was "totally wrong".
"This is totally against our policy. Pakistan would never proliferate its nuclear technology. It's a very clear policy," Sadiq said. "This (nuclear cooperation) was not even discussed in the talks we held with the Saudi's in Islamabad this week. It was not even on the agenda. It is out of question," he said.
Denials of any secret nuclear agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the source said, "must be seen in the same context as Iranian denials about its own nuclear weapons plans."
Pakistan considers Saudi Arabia as its benefactor and spiritual head. Besides getting substantial economic aid, Islamabad receives about a billion dollars worth of oil free annually from the Gulf country.
Media reports in Pakistan said Saudi Arabia was interested in buying remote-controlled, pilotless planes, armoured personnel carriers and other military equipment from Islamabad. Bureau Report