Pakistan ponders nuclear test ban

The Pakistan government has said it needs to gauge public opinion before deciding whether or not to sign the global treaty banning the test firing of nuclear weapons.

A foreign ministry spokesman said that in principle Pakistan had no difficulty with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty but would have to establish a national consensus.

The BBC's Islamabad correspondent says it's unclear how such a consensus would be obtained; there are no plans for a referendum and the spokesman said there were no deadlines. Neither Pakistan nor its regional rival India has signed the treaty.

Both tested nuclear weapons in May 1998.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service