The US State Department has sent a proposal to Pakistan that it would like to place a permanent official at the American Embassy in Islamabad to deal with Pakistan's nuclear issues, and that this official would have direct access to the National Command Authority (NCA) Secretariat, according to a news report. This request comes after a set of 11 demands earlier sent by the US to Islamabad were politely refused by the relevant ministries, leading English daily The News reported. All these requests wanted American citizens sent by the US government to be treated above Pakistan's national law. The latest US request was made public on April 9, but there was no reaction either from the home government or the US Embassy in Islamabad. Dr. Shireen M. Mazari, director general of Institute of Strategic Studies, recently wrote that this latest move by the US was perhaps the most dangerous effort at intruding into Pakistan's sensitive areas in the ongoing effort to gain direct access to nuclear-strategic matters. Interestingly, this US request comes at a time when senior US officials who recently visited Pakistan had expressed satisfaction over safety and security of Pakistan's nuclear assets. In Islamabad US Embassy spokesperson Elizabeth Carlton did not outright reject this US proposal. She said, “We are in touch with all elements of the Pakistan government all the time. But we do not publish or discuss details of our diplomatic discussions and assignments.” According to Mazari, this proposal was put through verbal contact via an assistant secretary level official of the section concerned. “This proposal, again, was not routed through either Foreign or Defense Ministries but a direct approach was made to the NCA. Apparently, so far Pakistan has not given any response but it would be quite appropriate to be concerned about such a US move, especially since transparency is not available at our end on such issues,” says Mazari. Lt. Gen. (retd) Talat Masood, a defense analyst, said: “This is outright interference in Pakistan's affairs. On what basis does the US want direct access to the NCA? Does the US have any particular fears or apprehensions? The US laws do not allow any transfer of nuclear technology or assets to Pakistan, so why should there be any such officer in the US embassy in Islamabad? There would be very grave implications if such a proposal is given serious thought by our government.” __
