Report: US helps Pakistan guard nuclear arms in secret programme

Nov 18, 2007, 1:19 GMT

Washington - The United States has been helping Pakistan to secure its nuclear weapons in a secret, highly classified programme, the New York Times reported late Saturday on its website.

The US has spent 100 million dollars over the past six years to train Pakistani experts in the United States and to help Pakistan build its own nuclear security training center, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed current and former senior government officials.

The issue of nuclear weapons' security has worried US officials especially during the recent weeks of upheaval in Pakistan, where President General Pervez Musharraf has declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution.

Musharraf is caught between demands for reform by democracy advocates and threats by a growing, militant Islamist movement to oust him. The militants already control part of the country and have captured Pakistani security units.

The New York Times said it has known about the secret programme for three years but refrained from publishing the information at the request of the White House.

But in light of new worries about the stability of the country, and revelations about the aid in the Pakistani media, the Times said it told the Bush administration it was going to resume its investigation. US officials then removed their request to halt publication, the article said.

The secret programme has supplied helicopters, night vision goggles and nuclear detection equipment, among other items, to help Pakistan secure its nuclear material, its warheads and laboratories, according to the story.