The State Department writes to Islamabad urging Pakistan to not react if in fact India chooses to launch a nuclear test. On 15 December the New York Times published a story by Tim Weiner, under the headline “US Suspects India Prepares to Conduct Nuclear Test.” While some Indian journalists and policy experts were convinced that the story was a US government plant, Weiner had simply used due diligence in pursuing a lead from a non-government expert on nuclear proliferation issues. Worried that the story would exacerbate regional tensions by encouraging Pakistan to “act in a manner that jeopardizes our nonproliferation efforts in South Asia,” the Department wanted to enlist the Chinese to encourage the Pakistanis to “exercise restraint in response to these reports.”

Subjects Discussed

• Nuclear weapons--India
• Nuclear proliferation
• Nuclear weapons--Testing
• India--Foreign relations--Pakistan
• Pakistan--Foreign relations--United States
• Nuclear explosions--India--Pokhran II

Locations discussed

• China
• India
• Pakistan
• United States

Appears in Collections

• Indian Nuclear History
• Nuclear Proliferation

Source

• Mandatory Declassification Review request. Obtained and contributed by William Burr and included in NPIHP Research Update #10.

Type

• Telegram

Language

• English

Publishers

• Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP)

Rights

• NPIHP - Content in the Digital Archive is made available for non-commercial research and educational use. Copyright is retained by the rights holders in accordance with US and international copyright laws. For permission to reproduce this document, please contact the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project at NPIHP@wilsoncenter.org. Please include the six-digit record ID number for all referenced documents.

Record ID

• 116342

Classification

• Secret