West Applies Double Standards in Ukraine

Re “A Bad Path for Ukraine,” editorial, Nov. 25: It is right and necessary to protest the election procedure in Ukraine, as the U.S., Britain and European governments have done. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has rejected the election of the pro-Russian candidate for presidency in Ukraine on the grounds of unfair electoral practices. It is more deplorable that the U.S., Britain and other Western countries have used double standards and accepted the army chief, Pervez Musharraf, as Pakistan’s president. He also used fraudulent practices and changed the constitution to suit his requirements. Pakistan created the Taliban and supported Al Qaeda, and only under U.S. pressure has partly helped fight some terrorists in its border areas with Afghanistan for billions of dollars in aid.

Pakistan has also been the most prolific nuclear proliferator. The CIA has just confirmed that Iran, like North Korea and Libya, got substantial help from Pakistan regarding nuclear activities and that Al Qaeda terrorists, who were closely assisted by Pakistani scientists in Afghanistan, could use dirty nukes against Western targets.

The least President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair should do is to insist upon Pakistan allowing its nuclear underground don, Abdul Qadeer Khan, to be interrogated by the Western security services to prevent a disaster.

Vipul Thakore

London