By Hassan Akhtar

ISLAMABAD, June 23: On the eve of the Camp David talks between
President George Bush and President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan on
Monday reaffirmed that Islamabad would remain a nuclear power and that
there would be no rollback of its nuclear programme.

Foreign office spokesman Masud Khan said at his weekly briefing that
there would be no closure of Pakistan's nuclear programme or change in
its decision to retain its nuclear power status. However, he called
for nuclear and missile restraint between Pakistan and India, saying
the two countries should elaborate their nuclear and missile regimes.

Islamabad also expressed the hope that the Camp David discussions on
Tuesday would include long-term "meaningful and significant defence
cooperation between Pakistan and the United States, particularly in
the conventional (arms) field because there is asymmetry between India
and Pakistan in the conventional sphere and we would like our
capability in this area to be strengthened".

Mr Khan said Gen Musharraf and President Bush would also discuss
commercial, technological and scientific bilateral cooperation.

Outlining the justification for long-term defence cooperation between
Washington and Islamabad, the spokesman said with the end of more than
a decade long sanctions on arms supplies to the subcontinent, India
had been procuring arms supplies from the United States.

In his opening remarks at the briefing, Mr Khan said the focus at Camp
David would be on the recent peace initiative. The leaders would look
at ways to bring about a reduction in Indo-Pakistan tensions and
kick-start a composite dialogue yielding meaningful results.

In reply to a question, the spokesman said Pakistan would like the
proposed meeting between the prime ministers of Pakistan and India to
take place as early as possible but he did not envisage a meeting
early next month. The Saarc summit could, however, be scheduled by
October this year instead of December, keeping in view the Indian
prime minister's possible preoccupation with national elections in his
country.

Mr Khan said Pakistan welcomed the exchange of parliamentarians'
visits as it might help confidence-building measures and hoped that on
their return to New Delhi, the Indian MPs would ask their government
to work for an early start to peace dialogue between the two
governments.

He said it was important that the proposed dialogue remained on the
table despite the continuing bitter tone of statements of leaders and
officials from Delhi. He pointed out that as a beginning the two sides
had already exchanged high commissioners, and officials had agreed to
resume two-way bus travel soon.

Aziz Ahmad Khan, named as high commissioner to India, will travel by
road to New Delhi on June 30, the spokesman disclosed.

In reply to a question, the spokesman said while the issue of
recognition of Israel had been under review in Islamabad from time to
time, no such decision had been taken so far.

He stressed that Pakistan would take into account among other
important factors, the outcome of the Middle East roadmap as proposed
by the United States, the response to it by the Palestinian Authority
and the regional Muslim states as also public opinion in the country
before deciding about recognition of Israel which had already been
recognized by Turkey and many other Muslim states.

The spokesman dismissed suggestions that China might be persuaded into
siding with India on Jammu and Kashmir during Indian Premier Atal
Behari Vajpayee's current Beijing visit.

The spokesman recalled that the Chinese government continued to play a
stabilizing role in the subcontinent, urging New Delhi to find an
early peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir issue with
Pakistan, in accordance with the aspirations of people of J&K.