Days after Libya announced its plans to allow UN inspectors in the traditionally uncooperative nation, Pakistan says it’s now following up on Pakistani scientists and their work helping other nations toward nuclear capabilities.
The developments follow reported discoveries by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog that appear to link Iran’s nuclear program with the Pakistani one which culminated in successful nuclear tests in 1998.
The tide is shifting in the Arab world. Saddam has been captured, his government overthrown; Libya recently acquiesced to UN inspectors, and now Pakistan has decided to crack down on their own scientists. Sure, some will play down the significance of such developments, but the spin-masters will have a tough time whirling their way out of this one.
“Reports from reliable sources in Pakistan speak of considerable panic in the military-intelligence establishment following receipt of reports that [Gadaffi] …has made a clean breast of Libya’s WMD set-up and the assistance received by it from Pakistan,” said B. Raman, a former senior Indian government official who now heads the Institute For Topical Studies in Chennai.
With information such as the above, attempts at spin will be all they can do.