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Scientist says Pakistan can build neutron bomb

Wednesday, August 18, 1999

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan has enough expertise and the necessary material to make a neutron bomb, the state-run news agency reported Wednesday.

The Associated Press of Pakistan quoted scientist N.M. Butt as saying the country had the ability to "build a nuclear weapon of any type or size, including neutron bomb."

Butt is director-general of Pakistan's Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Technology, a key institution doing nuclear research.

The Pakistani scientist's remarks came the day after an Indian nuclear scientist claimed India can make a neutron bomb.

Neutron bombs produce a smaller blast than conventional nuclear weapons but have more intense radiation, enabling them to limit structural damage while killing large numbers of people.

Pakistan and its neighbor India carried out tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May 1998, generating international fears of a nuclear confrontation.

India says it needs a minimum nuclear deterrent to arm itself against possible attacks by its neighbors, Pakistan to the west and China to the north.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947.

© 1999 The Associated Press.
All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.

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