The cabinet approved a draft bill for export controls on material, equipment and technologies related to nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their delivery systems, an official statement said.

The bill, which now goes to parliament, provides imprisonment of up to 14 years, a maximum fine of five million rupees (285,000 dollars) or both for offenders.

"The draft bill manifests Pakistan's strong commitment to the prevention of proliferation of nuclear and biological weapons and missiles capable of delivering such weapons," the statement said.

The move followed a UN Security Council resolution last week aimed at keeping weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists and black market traders.

It also calls on all UN members to adopt laws to prevent sensitive materials and technology from getting into the hands of non-state actors.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan was hit by an arms proliferation scandal recently when the architect of its atomic weapons programme, Abdul Qadeer Khan, publicly confessed to leaking nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Khan was given a conditional pardon by President Pervez Musharraf but he remains under virtual house arrest in the capital Islamabad.

The government has said a probe into the leaks has not been completed.

WAR.WIRE