Pakistani PM takes charge of N-weapons
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's president has transferred authority over the nation's nuclear weapons to his prime minister, as the unpopular leader tries to deflect growing criticism he has too much power.
President Asif Ali Zardari, beset by corruption allegations, has been under pressure to give up sweeping powers that his predecessor Pervez Musharraf accumulated for the presidency.
The transfer of the chairmanship of the National Command Authority (NCA), which oversees Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, came as Zardari could face pressure after the lapse of an amnesty opened several of his top aides to prosecution on graft charges.
That amnesty, and growing criticism that Zardari has too much power, may herald more political instability in Pakistan, worrying the United States and its allies as the government also gets increasingly embroiled in a war against Islamist militants.
Key cabinet ministers and the army, navy and air force heads are also members of the NCA, which controls the country's nuclear program, including deployment and the use of the weapons.
However, the military manages and controls the nuclear weapons on behalf of the NCA.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told reporters the transfer of the chairmanship was "a true litmus test" of relations between him and Zardari.
"He who himself was chairman of the NCA has given that authority to the prime minister. What more powers can there be than this, which a prime minister should have?" Gilani said on Saturday.
Pakistan set up the NCA in 2000, two years after it conducted nuclear tests. Musharraf introduced the ordinance in 2007.
Zardari took over as president last year after the assassination of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in late 2007.
Reuters
(China Daily 11/30/2009 page8)
