PAKISTAN'S NUCLEAR NETWORK ALARMED US, RUSSIA, SHOW DECLASSIFIED FILES

Newly declassified documents from the US National Security Archive revealed that Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation was a significant concern for both the US and Russia, with leaders expressing “nervous” fears about the country’s atomic stability.

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Conversations between former US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed deep concerns over Pakistan's nuclear proliferation activities, with both leaders expressing that the situation made them “nervous”, particularly regarding links to Iran’s nuclear programme and the AQ Khan network.

The documents, released this week by the National Security Archive following a Freedom of Information lawsuit, include verbatim records of meetings and calls between the two leaders from 2001 to 2008.

They highlight shared anxieties over Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal under military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

In a key exchange during an Oval Office meeting in 2005, Putin raised evidence of Pakistani-origin uranium found in Iranian centrifuges. He questioned Western tolerance despite its checkered record of proliferation.