Pak to engage China to counter Indo-US nuke deal

In its bid to offset the impact of Indo-US nuclear deal, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will take up the acquisition of nuclear fuel technology from China during his forthcoming visit.

The Pakistan government has decided to set up two nuclear power plants worth Rs 139 billion to overcome the country's energy crisis, official sources were quoted as saying by the Aaj Kal Urdu daily.

Zardari, who is expected to visit China in the near future, will discuss the acquisition of fuel technology for the two new plants with the Chinese leadership, the sources said.

Pakistan's planning commission is expected to approve the plan for the new atomic plants during a meeting on Thursday. The projects will be completed in eight years. The two plants will generate 4,467 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year.

In view of future requirements of nuclear fuel, a Nuclear Fuel Power Complex, consisting of a chemical processing plant, an enrichment plant, a seamless tube plant and a fuel fabrication plant, will be set up at a cost of Rs 51.298 billion.

Reports have suggested that Pakistan plans to acquire nuclear technology from China to check the impact of the Indo-US nuclear deal, which allows New Delhi to acquire atomic know-how and equipment from the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.