Pakistan a potential uranium customer, says Ziggy Switkowski

[Gautam]

AUSTRALIA will have to consider
selling uranium to Pakistan in the
future after agreeing to export it
to India, according to nuclear
expert Dr Ziggy Switkowski.
The assessment came as Pakistan
demanded the same treatment as its
nuclear neighbour, which Labor has
agreed to export uranium to despite
India's refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty.
Dr Switkowski, a nuclear physisist and
former head of the Australian Nuclear
Science and Technology Organisation,
said Pakistan wasn't yet ready to be
considered as a buyer of Australian
uranium.
But he said that “down the line that will
need to be considered”.
“Pakistan is handicapped by its less than
impressive history in the whole nuclear
space, having traded nuclear secrets to
unstable regimes, in Iran, in Libya and
North Korea,” he said.
“It also has a miniscule civilian nuclear
power program - I think they have two
reactors.
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“So, at this stage it is very much a
hypothetical.
“But over time, as they gain the
confidence of the international
community and the civilian nuclear
program builds, they will need to be
considered.”
Pakistani High Commissioner to Australia
Abdul Malik Abdullah said Pakistan
should also be able to buy Australian
yellowcake.
“If Australia is going to lift the ban on a
country which has not signed NPT it is
much hoped that will also apply to
Pakistan the same way,” he told ABC
radio.
Mr Abdullah said Pakistan has not made
a request to buy Australian uranium, but
this could change in the future.
“In that case we will hope that we will
also be treated at par with other non-
NPT signatories,” he said.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the
change of policy on India was “simply
un-stuffing a stuff-up”, after Labor had
reversed a Howard government policy.
But he said Pakistan was far too
unstable to be approved as a buyer of
Australian nuclear fuel.
“It's a very, very different situation,” he
said.
“India is a stable democracy and
Pakistan is a country that Australia
wants to have good relations with, but is
just not in the same position.
“They're just very different countries.
India is a stable democracy, Pakistan is
not.”
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
officials are preparing to negotiate a
bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement
with Indian counterparts, after the
weekend's ALP conference gave the
Gillard government the green light to sell
uranium to the rising economic
powerhouse.
Negotiations with India, to begin in the
new year, are likely to take at least 12
months.
Dr Switkowski said India had a strong
safety record when it came to nuclear
power.
“Remember that India has had a
network of nuclear power stations now
for more than 20 years, and that
network appears to have been operated
safely,” he said.
“And these days, modern reactors are
considerably better than those that were
designed in the 60s and 70s.”
Julia Gillard recently called on Pakistan
to do more to combat terrorism and
extremism, while Defence Minister
Stephen Smith yesterday noted Pakistan
would have the largest Muslim
population by the middle of the century
and also had nuclear weapons.
Mr Smith said the Pakistan government
and parliament did not publicly support
terrorism or extremism, but there was a
risk some officials, or former officials,
might, hence Australia's call for Pakistan
to be more vigilant.
“We don't have rose-coloured glasses
about the complexity or the difficulties of
Pakistan, but we strongly believe that
Australia and the rest of the world needs
to engage with Pakistan,” he said.
Nonetheless, Mr Smith has used his
powers under the Weapons of Mass
Destruction (Prevention of Proliferation)
Act to block exports to Pakistan three
times in the past two years, acting on
intelligence that suggested Australian
goods and services might be misused.
In 2010, the minister intervened to
block a contract between an Australian
company and a Pakistan-based company
for the supply of scientific instruments.
For the first time under the Act, Mr
Smith's prohibition notice also extended
to any training provided to the Pakistan-
based company.
This year, Mr Smith has blocked exports
of scientific equipment and industrial
equipment to Pakistan.
Pakistan is being dealt with under the
Act in much the same way as Iran was
dealt with before tougher United Nations
sanctions were imposed.
India has only come to the attention of
the Act once, in 2005, in relation to a
planned export of scientific equipment.
With Lanai Vasek

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[Gautam]

pakistan has to improve its image to get the uranium from Australia.

 

[pmukherjee]

It is Australia's uranium, up to them who they sell it to. They may decide to sell it to North Korea or any body else, it is entirely their decision, doesn't affect our health as long as they sell it to us.

 

[Subramanian]

they wont sell uranium to pak,usa ll veto it.

 

[Adnan Faruqi]

Its a joke never gonna happen they were asking for the NSG waiver or nuclear deal like India but never gets it.

With India's growing economy and their state of economy/country the gap will be more and more day by day.