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August 26, 2002
1047 IST

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Pakistan shopping for nuclear equipment in UK

The United Kingdom has stepped up surveillance of Pakistani activities in the country following reports that Islamabad has been secretly buying equipment for making nuclear weapons from the country.

Special high-grade metals have been smuggled out of the country and are believed to have reached an uranium enrichment plant in Kahuta, near Islamabad, a report in the Sunday Times said.

At least one consignment of 47 tons of high-strength aluminium worth 150,000 pounds was sent to Pakistan from a British firm, the paper claimed.

"This is not the kind of aluminium you use for soft drink cans. It has a very limited number of applications," the paper quoted a source.

The material, made to a standard known as 6061 T6, is used to make centrifuges for converting uranium ore to bomb-grade uranium 235, it said.

Customs and excise Officers discovered the aluminium had been secretly shipped to the Khan Research Laboratories in Pakistan, which manufactures nuclear weapons, it said.

The discovery has infuriated the British Foreign office, which had assurances from Pakistan that it was not shopping in Britain for weapons of mass destruction or related equipment, the paper said.

The British security agency Mi5 is said to have already stepped up surveillance of Pakistani activities in the UK, including diplomats in London involved in the procurement of military equipment, the report said.

The Mi5 visited the Blackburn-based company that sold the material and warned that Pakistan and other states may try to circumvent an export ban, it said.

Two people now face prosecution for alleged evasion of export controls, it added.

PTI

Indo-Pak Tension and Related Reports

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