軍事一瞥:美英:巴基斯坦能夠控制核設施

leaders seek to calm Pakistan fears
The US and Britain tried to bolster confidence in Pakistan's ability to retain control of its nuclear arsenal yesterday in the wake of an audacious weekend attack by suspected Taliban militants on the headquarters of the country's army – previously described as impregnable.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said the attack on the base in Rawalpindi – close to the capital Islamabad – offered “another reminder that increasingly threatening the authority of the state”. But she added: “We see no evidence they are going to take over.”

Her comments, after a meeting with UK foreign secretary David Miliband, came as army commandoes regained control of the base in a dramatic pre-dawn raid. At least four of the attackers, three hostages and two commandoes were killed.

Attackers in army uniforms struck at the headquarters in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

The strike was the third major assault in a week – after bombs in Islamabad and Peshawar – in an apparent campaign to deter a planned army offensive against Taliban strongholds in the country's Waziristan region along the Afghan border.

It is likely to embarrass Pakistan after a recent series of setbacks for the militants in the northern Swat valley led the government to claim it was winning the battle against the Islamist group.

It will also alarm western powers that have been applying pressure on Islamabad to deal with the Islamist threat. During the battle to retake control of Swat, Pakistani leaders faced concerns from the west over militants coming precariously close to some of the country's known nuclear locations.

Mr Miliband said: “In respect of the nuclear issue, there is no evidence that has been shown publicly or privately of any threat to the Pakistani nuclear facilities.” He said: “It is very important that alarmist talk is not allowed to gather pace.”

美國和英國昨日試圖增強外界對於巴基斯控制其核武器能力的信心，此前，疑爲塔利班分子的武裝人員週末悍然襲擊了巴基斯坦陸軍總部——先前這裏被形容爲固若金湯。

美國國務卿希拉里·克林頓(Hillary Clinton)表示，針對拉瓦爾品第軍事基地（臨近該國首都伊斯蘭堡）的襲擊“再次提醒人們，極端分子……正日益威脅這個國家的權威”。但她補充道：“我們沒有看到任何證據表明他們將奪取政權。”

她是在與英國外交大臣戴維·米利班德(David Miliband)會晤後發表上述講話的。此前，巴基斯坦陸軍突擊隊經過一場驚心動魄的拂曉前突襲，已重新獲得了該基地的控制權。在衝突中，至少有4名襲擊者、3名人質和2名突擊隊員喪生。

上週六，一羣身着軍隊制服的襲擊者攻擊了位於拉瓦爾品第的巴基斯坦陸軍總部。

這是巴基斯坦一週內的第三次大規模恐怖襲擊——此前伊斯蘭堡和白沙瓦曾分別發生炸彈襲擊事件。這些襲擊顯然是要阻止巴基斯坦計劃中對該國與阿富汗交界處瓦濟里斯坦(Waziristan)地區的塔利班據點發起的進攻。

恐怖襲擊事件可能令巴基斯坦感到難堪，因爲近來武裝分子在該國北部斯瓦特(Swat)山谷接連遭受打擊，巴基斯坦政府因此聲稱自己正贏得針對伊斯蘭極端組織的鬥爭。

它還將給西方大國敲響警鐘，這些國家一直在向巴基斯坦政府施壓，要求其應對伊斯蘭極端組織的威脅。在奪回斯瓦特山谷控制權的戰鬥中，武裝分子曾危險地靠近巴基斯坦幾處公開的核設施，西方國家爲此感到擔心。

米利班德表示：“談到核問題，目前沒有公開或祕密的證據表明，巴基斯坦的核設施面臨任何威脅。”他表示：“不要讓大驚小怪的說法變本加厲，這一點非常重要。”