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Musharraf Says Iran Should Not Have Nuclear Weapons
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=10C1218:3919ACA Pakistani leader
defends his own country's acquisition of nuclear weapons in 1998 as
legitimate act of defensive deterrence Pakistan's President Pervez
Musharraf says Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
General Musharraf spoke in Davos, Switzerland, as the West and Iran
continue to clash over Tehran's nuclear enrichment program.







Pervez Musharraf speaks at World Economic Forum in DavosSpeaking
during a session at the World Economic Forum, President Musharraf
defended his own country's acquisition of nuclear weapons in 1998 as a
legitimate act of defensive deterrence.

Pakistan's neighbor and rival, India, also possesses nuclear weapons.
But President Musharraf expressed doubt that Iran had the right to
pursue a nuclear weapons program.

"Every country has the right to defend its security if its security is
threatened. So, technically, I would say if Iran's security is
threatened, then they have the right to go nuclear. Under the present
circumstances, I don't think their security is threatened. Therefore,
I presume they need not go nuclear," he said.

General Musharraf was one of several Muslim leaders to comment on the
issue during the special session in Davos. Others on the panel,
including Queen Rania of Jordan and the leader of Iraq's National
Assembly, rejected the notion of any government acquiring nuclear
weapons.

So did Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "I think nobody should be
nuclear powered," he said.

Their remarks come as both Iran and the United States have expressed
interest in a Russian proposal to resolve the nuclear standoff. Moscow
has suggested Iran's nuclear fuel could be enriched on Russian soil.

Iran says its enrichment program is for peaceful, civilian purposes,
but Western governments fear it could be used to make a nuclear
weapon.


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