Word: pakistan
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...more urgent task was to stop Pakistan from imitating India's move. As a delegation led by Deputy Secretary Talbott winged toward Islamabad, Pakistan gave every sign that it was about to set off nuclear tests of its own. "We are like a cook waiting for the orders," said Abdul Qadeer Khan, the country's top nuclear scientist. U.S. satellites spying on the Baluchistan desert recorded preparations. In a phone chat, Prime Minister Sharif would not promise Clinton to desist, despite the prospect of being slapped with the same economic sanctions if he didn...
...main argument Talbott used on Sharif was that he should "gain the moral high ground" by showing restraint. Pakistan's historical reliance on military rule has stood poorly in the international arena against India's freewheeling democracy, and this gives Islamabad a rare chance to show itself as the more mature, responsible power. But Pakistan's position is decidedly difficult. Islamabad considers India's tests a provocative act. It is already straining to compete in conventional military power. The populace and opposition politicians are clamoring to even the score. For Pakistan to refrain would be a humiliating retreat from...
...diplomats scrambled to contain the fallout, many echoed Clinton's questions: Why did India do it, and why now? Basking in atomic glory, B.J.P. officials insisted it was a matter of vital national security, a precaution against Pakistan's nuclear preparations, a deterrent to ward off China's hegemony. Just two weeks ago, Defense Minister Fernandes had suddenly called China "threat No. 1," claiming it was encircling India with missile and naval deployments of suspicious intent. But until then relations between the neighboring giants had been mending. Even though India has fought three wars with Pakistan, nothing has changed recently...
...decision to explode the nuclear devices fits snugly into the B.J.P.'s somewhat paranoiac view of its world: that India is sliding into chaos, with insurgencies in Kashmir and the northeastern jungles threatening its stability, China trying to stretch its influence through Burma into the Indian Ocean, and Pakistan secretly developing nuclear missiles that can target Indian cities. B.J.P. strategists argue that India needs to be ready to defend itself...
Clinton knew that both India and Pakistan were resisting the treaty. But treaty men are hardly deterred by such realities. The mere act of signing by the big powers and others, Clinton told the U.N. General Assembly, "will immediately create an international norm against nuclear testing, even before the treaty formally enters into force...