India reacts sharply to Sino-Pak Nuke hobnobbing

Pakistan's atomic activities have sparked concern in the United States and India, which fear that nuclear material could fall into the hands of Taliban extremists operating near the Pakistani border with Afghanistan.

India said it has taken "note" of the move by China to go ahead with supply of two additional nuclear reactors to Pakistan. "We have seen those statements and we have noted those statements. Let's see how it evolves. We are not members of NSG," sources said when asked if India was  concerned over China's plans for building two more nuclear reactors in Pakistan.

The Chinese move has triggered persistent concerns on the safety of atomic materials in restive Pakistan.

Earlier this week, the Chinese Foreign Affairs ministry said Beijing has informed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about its plans to build two more nuclear power plants at Chashma In Pakistan in addition to the earlier two units.
China has already helped Pakistan build its main civilian nuclear reactor at Chashma in Punjab province, is also finishing a second one there and has agreed contracts to build two others.

"Both sides are in discussions over the CNNC exporting a one-gigawatt nuclear plant to Pakistan," company vice president Qiu Jiangang said.

Qiu added that the first reactor was running safely, and that the second would be onstream by year's end.

The United States has conveyed its concerns to Pakistan over the contracts for the third and fourth reactors, saying such plans required special approval from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The group brings together nuclear energy states that forbid exports to nations lacking strict International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.

China joined the NSG in 2004. Pakistan has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Western fears about nuclear proliferation from Pakistan spiked when scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan confessed in 2004 to sending nuclear secrets to other nations although he later retracted his remarks.

Khan, who is revered by many Pakistanis as the father of the country's atomic bomb, was pardoned in 2004 but continues to face restrictions on his movement.
The United States has warned that it still represents a nuclear proliferation risk.

Recently on thursday ,a US-trained Pakistani woman scientist was awarded 86 years in prison by a Federal Court in New York.

Aafia Siddiqui was convicted for the attempted murder of US officers in Afghanistan, in a high-profile case closely watched in Islamabad.