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Clinton seeks in vain for Pak assurance on N-test

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief has so far successfully avoided responding, either way, to the appeals by US President Bill Clinton and other leaders for jettisoning the idea of a nuclear test, thus keeping the world guessing about his real intentions.

Clinton, for the second time within a week, called Nawaz Sharief yesterday to urge him not to respond in kind to India's recent nuclear tests.

Briefing the media after his 15-minute telephone call to Sharief, Clinton could not say whether the Pakistan prime minister had offered any categorical assurance. "It was a good long conversation about where we go from here," was all the US president could offer by way of summation.

Replying to questions, he would not say whether he saw reason to be optimistic about restraining Pakistan from conducting its own tests. "I think they are having an honest debate within their government. I believe they want to do the right thing by their people, but they also want to do the right thing by a great issue that affects even more than India and Pakistan," Clinton added.

He said he was impressed with the depth of understanding that the Pakistan prime minister had showed, and with his genuine concern that he both protect the security of his country and do nothing to upset the world-wide campaign to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

Clinton said he would continue to urge the Pakistani leader to refrain from testing. "I've told Nawaz Sharief that I am asking other world leaders to support him if he refrains from testing," Clinton said, hinting among other things at the talk he had with Russian President Boris Yeltsin yesterday.

"I can tell you I am working hard on this," Clinton said. Earlier, he urged both India and Pakistan to avoid a perilous nuclear arms race, adding however that India's recent actions threatened the stability of Asia and challenged the firm international consensus to stop all nuclear testing.

Clinton urged both India and Pakistan to stop their nuclear weapons programme and join the 149 other nations that had already signed the CTBT.

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