Pakistan opposes US nuke oversight

A PLAN by the US to seek direct "oversight" of Pakistan's powerful nuclear arsenal and the command structure that controls it was heading for rejection last night after it was denounced in Islamabad as "outright interference" in the country's affairs.

The secret plan, disclosed in the Pakistan media, would for the first time see US officials deployed in Islamabad with "direct access" to the National Command Authority that manages Pakistan's nuclear assets.

It is the first time since the country became a nuclear power in 1998 that Washington has sought direct access to the nuclear arsenal.

Last weekend, US President George W. Bush was quoted as saying that if the US suffered another 9/11-type attack, it would most likely have its antecedents in Pakistan rather than Afghanistan.