Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 10:38:41 -0400
 

   23 may 1996 (Reuter) - The chief U.S. negotiator at Geneva
talks on a comprehensive nuclear test ban, John Holum, said on
Thursday he was cautiously optimistic that a pact would be
reached by the end of June since China had begun to show
flexibility in the talks.   
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23 may 1996 (Reuter) - Pakistan on Thursday criticised Western
support for a treaty banning nuclear tests which would allow
experiments stopping short  of creating a nuclear reaction.
Western diplomats fear India will refuse to sign the pact and
Pakistan will follow for regional security reasons but say
their ratifications are crucial to a meaningful treaty. India
and Pakistan argue that allowing so-called "sub-critical"
underground experiments with plutonium would pave the way for
nuclear weapon states to improve their arsenals. 
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23 may 1996 (Reuter) - Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
said on Thursday India was pursuing a "nuclear missile
programme" which allowed her country only three minutes to
respond to an attack. "Having faced aggression four times at
the hands of India, Pakistan cannot remain unconcerned at such
developments," she said referring to three wars and a smaller
conflict between the two countries since their independence
from Britain in 1947.