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Jamaat renews opposition to CTBT signing

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Qazi Hussein Ahmed has written another letter to Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar saying his party is opposing signing of the CTBT as it is not in the national interest.

He said: "Even if this treaty is signed by America and India, we should not go for this option because nuclear deterrent is our need". Qazi said that with conventional weapons, Pakistan cannot defend itself.

The letter was released by JI Media Centre to newspapers on Friday. He claimed that during the congregations of Juma-tul-Wida and Eid-ul-Fitr, people passed resolutions against signing CTBT. He said prior to the military government, Benazir and Nawaz regimes could not sign this treaty because of fear of public pressure.