Sharon courageous leader, Iran must not make nuke bomb

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Ahhh…such juicy fruits of enlightened slavery

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-5-2005_pg1_1

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Talking about Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the Pakistani president said he (Sharon) was a bold man, a great soldier and a courageous leader, but he needed to put more effort into building confidence between the Israelis and Palestinians. He said the Muslim world’s attitude towards Israel and the West would change with peace in the Middle East – that the Muslim world saw as just. **

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President Musharraf said the Iranians were keen on building a nuclear bomb and that an individual from Pakistan helped Iran and North Korea to go nuclear. He said that when India went nuclear in 1974, Dr AQ Khan was brought in (to Pakistan). President Musharraf said AQ Khan came from Holland and that he was only an expert in enriching uranium, bringing it to weapons grade. “He is not an expert in making nuclear bombs. He started establishing the process. This had to be kept secret from the world because otherwise the world would not have allowed it. For reasons of secrecy, AQ Khan was given total autonomy. He was doing a job nobody else knew about except for the president, army chief and scientists,” the president added.
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And here is Iran’s reaction:

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Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, told the AFP news agency on Sunday he thought it “very unlikely that [President] Musharraf said such a thing, because he knows better”.

He added: “We hope that the Pakistanis explain that this report was distorted.”
**

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Re: Sharon courageous leader, Iran must not make nuke bomb

**Musharraf denies Iran bomb remark **

**President Musharraf said a US strike on Iran would be “a disaster”
Pakistan has denied that President Pervez Musharraf told a German magazine that Iran was “very anxious” to have a nuclear bomb.
Iran demanded an urgent clarification after the comments were carried in Der Spiegel magazine on Saturday. **

Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman, Jalil Abbas Jilani, said the president had been misquoted.

Iran, under an international nuclear investigation for two years, says its industry is for peaceful purposes.

Disgraced scientist

In the magazine article, President Musharraf said he did not know how to stop Iran from developing a military nuclear programme.

Mr Jilani confirmed this, but the magazine also quoted President Musharraf as saying: “They are very anxious to have the bomb.”

Mr Jilani said the president had not made the remark.

**I would say there was a distortion and it is unlikely that such comments were made **
The interview had brought a quick reaction from Iran.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, told the AFP news agency on Sunday he thought it “very unlikely that [President] Musharraf said such a thing, because he knows better”.

He added: “We hope that the Pakistanis explain that this report was distorted.”

Mr Asefi added: “It is not the business of other countries to comment in this regard. It is up to us to say what we are seeking and not seeking. We are insisting we are not seeking such weapons.”

Pakistan has been closely linked with Iran’s nuclear industry since the revelation that disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan illegally transferred nuclear technology to Iran and other countries.

Islamabad recently sent parts of its nuclear centrifuges to the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna as part of the two-year investigation into whether Iran has been trying to building an atomic bomb.

The IAEA wants to check whether traces of enriched uranium found at an Iranian nuclear site in 2003 were illegally supplied by Dr Khan.

The IAEA investigation has found no proof that Iran plans to build nuclear weapons but has also been unable to confirm that the programme is entirely peaceful.

The US has accused Iran, a state already rich in gas and oil, of pursuing atomic energy as a screen to develop weapons.

In the Der Spiegel article, President Musharraf was also quoted as saying that a US attack to stop Iran developing nuclear arms would be “a disaster”.

“That would provoke a rebellion in the Muslim world,” he was quoted as saying. “Why open up new fronts?”

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Re: Sharon courageous leader, Iran must not make nuke bomb

Musharraf has two faces: one for west and the other for domestic audience....just like Jinnah

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Re: Sharon courageous leader, Iran must not make nuke bomb

great to hear Mush praisng his grand daddy sharon also!