Great Zardari, President of Pakistan, has already stated that India is not and has never been a threat to Pakistan. So, this statement is in-line with his his stated position as Pakistan would never need to use it’s nuclear weapons.
Is disarmament on the cards for Pakistan by Great Zardari?
** President Zardari Says Pakistan Won’t Use Nuclear Weapons First **
Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) – President Asif Ali Zardari said Pakistan won’t be the first country to use a nuclear weapon in any conflict with India and called for improved economic and political ties between the traditional South Asian rivals.
``I don’t feel threatened by India and India shouldn’t feel threatened by us,‘’ Zardari said in a videoconference at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi today.
India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, have been seeking to improve ties between themselves in the past five years after coming close to a fourth conflict in 2002.
Zardari said the impulse for reaching an accord on the [Himalayan territory of Kashmir](http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/kashmir.pdf), divided between the neighbors and claimed by both, should come from the people and politicians. He hoped that the need for a visa to cross the border could be scrapped and that an ``e-card swipe'' would suffice.
India and Pakistan tested nuclear devices in quick succession in May 1998, leading to sanctions against both. The sanctions were lifted against Pakistan after it joined the U.S.- led war on terrorism in 2001.
India ended more than three decades of nuclear isolation this year, having previously conducted a test in 1974, after reaching an agreement on fuel and technology supplies with the Nuclear Suppliers Group as part an accord with the U.S. India has said it won't be the first user of an atomic weapon.
The Pakistan president said that he wanted to increase trade with India and China by taking advantage of their geographical closeness. He said trade, and not aid, was what Pakistan needed, saying that nations have been spoiled by aid.
IMF Bailout
He said the Pakistan government has sent a letter of intent to be vetted by the International Monetary Fund.
Pakistan is counting on the $7.6 billion IMF bailout to help build up its foreign-exchange reserves, which shrank 75 percent in a year to $3.5 billion, and to attract investment that will boost an economy predicted to grow at the slowest pace in seven years.
The $150 billion economy may grow 4.3 percent this fiscal year to June 30, lower than the earlier predicted 5.5 percent, [Waqar Masood](http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Waqar+Masood&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1), secretary at the finance ministry, said on Nov. 19. Inflation will exceed the government's previous target of 12 percent, he said.
Political wrangling left the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government, which came into power in March, unable to tackle inflation at a three-decade high and fix power shortages. Zardari, 52, was elected President in September.
Additional Aid
Pakistan is hoping the IMF loan may help it win additional aid from a group of other lenders and donor nations, including the U.S., the U.K., China and Saudi Arabia. The group's Nov. 17 meeting in Abu Dhabi adopted a ``work plan'' for financial help to Pakistan, the Foreign Ministry has said.
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Pakistan left its last IMF program in 2004 with a credit rating from Standard & Poor’s of B+, four levels below investment grade. S&P on Nov. 14, one day before the latest IMF loan was announced, cut the nation’s rating to CCC, citing a risk of default on external debt payments.
Moody's Investors Service, which rates Pakistan's debt at B3, said Nov. 17 the rating remains on review for a downgrade as the country needs to show it will secure additional assistance from donors and other lenders.
The Pakistani rupee in October plunged to an all-time low and the balance of payments deficit in the first three months of the fiscal year started July 1 widened to $3.95 billion, from $2.27 billion a year earlier. The deficit reached a record $14 billion last year.
India Caucus
Zardari, speaking from Islamabad, said he's asked for a caucus to be formed in parliament aimed at examining suggestions for improving ties with India.
The Pakistan president said he expects to discuss terrorism and other issues with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama.
Pakistan has repeatedly demanded a halt to U.S. strikes near its border with Afghanistan saying they weaken its ability to fight terrorism. The U.S. says Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters who fled from Afghanistan to the mountains of the tribal region after the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2001 have crossed back over the border to attack Afghan and coalition targets.
Zardari didn't answer directly when asked whether he would invite former president and military dictator [Pervez Musharraf](http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Pervez+Musharraf&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1) to join his government.
``That would be up to parliament to decide,'' the president said. ``But I can assure you this much that he's having a comfortable time and he's busy playing, the last I heard, golf, which is more than what I was doing when he was in power.''
