The inclusion of words "nuclear terrorism" in the joint communiqué issued by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has triggered serious concerns in relevant quarters, informed sources revealed to Business Recorder. A senior member who accompanied the Prime Minister on his recent US visit told Business Recorder that the term 'nuclear terrorism' was not specific to Pakistan but as the outcome of the process in which all states send reports on work they undertake to the United Nations.
"It's a standard term that is used in UN Security Council resolution 1540 whereby all states cooperate to ensure that no nuclear material ever reaches non-state actors," he explained. In the joint statement, he added that the reference is also in the context of Nuclear Security Summit process which is participated by Pakistan.
About security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, he said that the record of Pakistan's nuclear security is most exemplary which has not only been acknowledged by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but also by the US. Pakistan is party to both Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention and is a partner in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. According to NTI Index 2014, Pakistan's score increased by three points compared to 2012, putting it in the top ten most improved countries and making it the most improved nuclear-armed state.
The NTI index further noted that Pakistan's improvement is primarily due to an increased score for on-site physical protection resulting from new laws and regulations requiring licensees to provide physical protection to nuclear sites and on-site reviews of security. Sharing his concerns with Business Recorder, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, said that Pakistan is being subjected to pressure tactics for the reason that "we're the only Muslim country of the world with this [nuclear] power...this is their only concern".
About the enhanced co-operation between China and Pakistan in the civil nuclear field, Khan said that it was not a secret deal and is open for IAEA inspection. Lieutenant General Talat Masood (Retd), a renowned security and defence analyst, said that Western powers especially the US has apprehensions about the overall security situation in the country, although it has improved significantly these days, yet they fear that nuclear weapons may fall into the hands of non-state actors.
"They actually think that security situation in Pakistan is poor and volatile and there is a possibility that the militants may attempt to raid a nuclear installation and may get away with nuclear material...this is an apprehension," he said. The second factor, according to him, is that Pakistan is engaged in a race with India in its nuclear and missile buildup. "So, they think the more nuclear assets it [Pakistan] has, the more it endangers security of the nukes," he stated.
According to Dr Zafar Iqbal Cheema, President/Chief Executive Strategic Vision Institute, when it comes to nuclear materials, an element of concern should be there to effectively ensure their safety. He pointed out that there was an excessive use of radioisotopes in some industries notably in pharmaceutical industry and these radioisotopes can be used to make a low level bomb by non-state actors, referred to as a "dirty bomb"; he added there is no proper check on the industrial use of these materials.
However, he pointed out that an actual bomb requires at least 15 kg of enriched uranium, which is an impossible prospect to steal, and added that there have been several cases of enriched uranium being stolen but so far no bomb has been developed. Cheema, who is a nuclear expert and also former chairman department of defence and strategic studies at Quaid-e-Azam University, said that 'nuclear terrorism' usually refers to fissile materials in the hands of non-state actors and terrorists enabling them to develop a nuclear bomb. He said that the world powers are expressing concerns on the safety of Pakistan's nuclear programme, which is very much secured as per the international standards.
However, he noted that the Western powers need to look into the fact that designs of a nuclear bomb are now available on the internet and it is not Pakistan but the western countries that are making public these most sensitive matters on the internet. Riaz Ahamd Missen, Director at Center for Policy and Media Studies, pointed out that the West, especially the US, has been raising concerns at what it terms is the "vulnerability of Pakistan's tactical nuclear weapons. They are also concerned at the ideological elements within Pakistan's nuclear command and control authority although we have a strict screening system".
What fuelled concerns over Pakistan's programme was a statement by British photojournalist John Cantlie in May 2015 - a man held hostage by the global terror organisation Daesh for over two years - that the Islamic State also known as Daesh has billions of dollars in banks, and they call on their "wilayah" [governorate] in Pakistan to purchase a nuclear device through weapons dealers with links to corrupt officials in the region. A spokesperson for the ISPR, when contacted refused to comment, saying the Foreign Office deals with the issue.
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