[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 55 (Wednesday, May 6, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H2924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ROLE OF PAKISTAN IN THE TRANSFER AND PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS 
                          AND DELIVERY SYSTEMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I want to stress my concern this evening 
over the continued role of Pakistan in the transfer and proliferation 
of nuclear weapons and delivery systems.
  Last month, the U.S. State Department determined that sanctions 
should be imposed on Pakistan pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act, 
and this decision comes in the wake of a determination that entities in 
Pakistan and North Korea have engaged in missile technology 
proliferation activities.
  According to the notice published in the Federal Register on May 4 of 
this year, Khan Research Laboratories in Pakistan and the North Korean 
Mining Development Trading Corporation are subject to sanctions, 
including denial of export licenses, a ban on U.S. Government contracts 
with these entities, and a ban on importation to the U.S. of products 
produced by these two entities. The sanctions are in effect for 2 
years.
  Now, although these sanctions seem relatively modest, I still want to 
applaud the Clinton administration for imposing the sanctions on these 
companies. I hope that enforcement efforts against these and other 
firms involved in the proliferation of missile technology will remain 
strong.
  As if this recent disclosure, though, about Pakistani nuclear missile 
technology with North Korea was not shocking enough, there are reports 
this week that the International Atomic Energy Agency, or the IAEA, is 
investigating whether a leading Pakistani scientist offered Iraq plans 
for nuclear weapons. The information, first reported in Newsweek 
Magazine, has been confirmed by the IAEA. According to the report, in 
October of 1990, prior to the Persian Gulf War, but after the Iraqi 
invasion of Kuwait, while our troops were massing in Saudi Arabia under 
Operation Dessert Shield, a memorandum from Iraqi's intelligence 
service to its nuclear weapons directorate mentioned that Abdul Qadeer 
Khan, the Pakistani scientist, offered help to Iraq to ``manufacture a 
nuclear weapon.'' The document was among those turned over by Iraq 
after the 1995 defection of Saddam Hussein's son-in-law, Lieutenant 
General Hussein Kamel, who ran Iraq's secret weapons program.
  The Pakistani Government has denied the report and the IAEA has not 
yet made any determination, but this report is part of a very troubling 
pattern involving Pakistan in efforts to obtain nuclear weapons and 
delivery systems or to share this technology with unstable regimes.
  Recently, Pakistan tested a new missile known as the Ghauri, a 
missile with a range of 950 miles, sufficient to pose significant 
security threats to India and to launch a new round in the south Asian 
arms race. I am pleased that the recently elected Government of India 
has demonstrated considerable restraint in light of this threatening 
new development.
  While I welcome the sanctions against North Korea, I remain very 
concerned that China is also known to have transferred nuclear 
technology to Pakistan. Our administration has certified that it will 
allow transfers of nuclear technology to China, a move I continue to 
strongly oppose.
  Mr. Speaker, for years many of our top diplomatic and national 
security officials have advocated a policy of appeasement of Pakistan, 
citing that country's strategic location. But I think the time has long 
since passed for us to reassess our relationship with Pakistan. The two 
developments I cite today are only the latest developments. North 
Korea, the last bastion of Stalinism, is also one of the most 
potentially dangerous nations on Earth and the U.S. has been trying to 
pursue policies to lessen the threat of nuclear proliferation from 
North Korea, but now we see that Pakistan is cooperating with North 
Korea on missile technology.

  Mr. Speaker, we do not need to be reminded of American concerns over 
Saddam's regime in Iraq. Now credible reports have surfaced suggesting 
the possibility of nuclear cooperation between Iraq and a top Pakistani 
scientist. Concerns about Pakistani nuclear weapons proliferation 
efforts have been a concern for U.S. policymakers for more than a 
decade. In 1985 the Congress amended the Foreign Assistance Act to 
prohibit all U.S. aid to Pakistan if the President failed to certify 
that Pakistan did not have nuclear explosive devices.

                              {time}  2330

  This is known as the Pressler amendment. And it was invoked in 1990 
by President Bush when it became impossible to make such a 
certification. The law has been in force since, but we have seen 
ongoing efforts to weaken the Pressler amendment, including a provision 
in the fiscal year 1998 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill that 
carves out certain exemptions to the law.
  Several years ago, $370 million worth of U.S. conventional weapons to 
Pakistan, which had been tied up in the pipeline since the Pressler 
amendment was invoked, was shipped to Pakistan. There is also the 
specter of U.S. F-16s, the delivery of which were also held up by the 
Pressler amendment, being delivered to Pakistan.
  Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I want to say that Pakistan has continued 
to take actions that destabilize the region and the world. Providing 
and obtaining weapons and nuclear technology from authoritarian, often 
unstable regimes, is a pattern of Pakistani policy that is unacceptable 
to U.S. interests and the goal of stability in Asia.
  Pakistan is a country that faces severe development problems and 
really they should not be involved in this continued proliferation of 
nuclear weapons.
  Its people would be much better served if their leaders focused on 
growing the economy, promoting trade and investment and fostering 
democracy. U.S. policy needs to be much stronger in terms of 
discouraging the continued trend toward destabilization and weapons 
proliferation that the Pakistani government continues to engage in.

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