Clark disputes Indian newspaper's 'nuclear flashpoint' report

1.00pm

Prime Minister Helen Clark has said an Indian newspaper article, which reported her calling Kashmir a "nuclear flashpoint", was a "gross distortion".

Helen Clark, who is due to arrive in India on Sunday, disputed saying the Kashmir conflict forced India and Pakistan to go nuclear.

She provided her own transcript of the interview, specifically questioning two quotes run in the Hindustan Times article.

She had been asked whether "India can also act as a responsible nuclear power?" her statement said.

The Prime Minister had responded: "I hope we can work with India. I think that the resolution of this issue in many ways lies with the resolution over Kashmir. That's been the flashpoint.

"If that issue had some resolution I think the pressures on both India and Pakistan around nuclear weapons would diminish."

Nor did Helen Clark consider she had said "we will tell India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. India will always find New Zealand as the dominant voice for nuclear disarmament".

According to the transcript, what she actually said was: "Well, as a matter of principle New Zealand likes countries to sign the limited test ban treaty and we are well-known for strong advocacy of nuclear disarmament.

"And certainly there have been times when I've been Prime Minister there's been enormous concern here about the possibility of nuclear war between India and Pakistan which we find extremely distressing.

"So India will always find New Zealand a voice for moving closer to nuclear disarmament, not further away from it."

However, the journalist who wrote the article is standing by the report.

Saurabh Shukla told National Radio today: "I don't see any grounds for any criticism. The fact is we have the Prime Minister's interview on record.

"She did say that Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint. I asked her again and she did say that."

Helen Clark, who he interviewed in her Wellington office, had not been well briefed on the issue, he felt.

Claims that she had been influenced by the advice of a New Zealand MP of Pakistani descent, thought to be Muslim Labour MP Ashraf Choudhary, were "ridiculous and offensive", Helen Clark said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said the story was a "beat up".

The comments had been taken out of context to create a headline. New Zealand wanted every country to sign up to test bans, but would never tell a country what to do, he said.

"There is no problem between the Government of India and the Government of New Zealand," Mr Goff said.

- NZPA