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Pakistan’s London HC implicated in nuclear trade

LAHORE: Pakistan High Commission in London is on a British intelligence list of 360 companies, universities and government organisations seeking to procure nuclear and other weapons related technology.

According to a British newspaper, the British intelligence agency MI5 has prepared a report outlining the activities of 360 organisations, which seek nuclear weapons. The length of the list suggests that the arms trade supermarket is bigger than earlier anticipated. MI5 warns against exports to organisations in Iran, Pakistan, India, Israel, Syria and Egypt and warns against companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), suspected to be fronts for these organisations..

This comes a day after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The document, titled Companies and Organisations of Proliferation Concern, has been compiled in an attempt to prevent British companies from inadvertently exporting sensitive goods or expertise to organisations covertly involved in Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) programmes. The document says the list is not exhaustive.

The 17-page document identifies 95 Pakistani organisations and government bodies, including Pakistan High Commission in London, as having assisted in the country’s nuclear programme. The list was compiled two years ago shortly after the security service mounted a surveillance operation at the Pakistani high commission, which is the only diplomatic institution on the list. Abdul Basit, Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner, said: “It is absolute rubbish and we take strong exception to these allegations.”

As many as 114 Iranian organisations, including chemical and pharmaceutical companies and university medical schools, have been identified as having acquired nuclear, chemical, biological or missile technology. The document also sheds some light on the nuclear ambitions of Egypt and Syria. A private chemical company in Egypt and the Syrian atomic energy commission have been accused of having procured technology for use in nuclear weapons programmes. 11 Israeli bodies and 73 Indian bodies also appear on the list. The document also says that companies in Malta and Cyprus could have been used as fronts for WMD programmes. UAE has been identified as the hub of nuke trade however. A spokesman for the UAE government said his country had always worked very closely with the British authorities to counter WMD proliferation. daily times monitor

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