Pakistan's nuclear tests no surprise: Indian president

KATHMANDU, May 29 Kyodo - Visiting Indian President K.R. Narayanan said Thursday the nuclear tests carried out by Pakistan earlier in the day came as no surprise to India. ''We knew Pakistan was a screwdriver away from the tests,'' the Indian president told reporters in reaction to reports that Pakistan carried out five nuclear explosions. The Pakistani tests have nothing to do with India's recent nuclear tests, Narayanan said, adding, ''It is evident that Pakistan was preparing for the tests for quite some time.'' Later, at a banquet hosted by King Birendra at the Narayanhity Royal Palace Thursday night, the Indian president said his country is determined to continue its efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons globally. India is in a position to pursue that objective with greater credibility and persuasiveness in the councils of the world, Narayanan said. India had called for a ban on nuclear weapons, he said, but those calls went unheeded by Pakistan. Narayanan arrived Thursday in Nepal for a two-day state visit.