Safety endorsed

In its annual report, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) a leading US non-proliferation watchdog dilating on safety of Pakistan’s nuclear assets has said that “Pakistan’s improvements in the Security and Control Measures category are significant because strengthened laws and regulations result in durable boosts in Pakistan’s score as well as provide sustainable security benefits.

“Pakistan’s score improvement for regulatory measures is the second largest improvement for regulations in the Index since 2012. Majority of improvements are in the Security and Control Measures category because of its passage of new regulations. The country also improved in the Global Norms category. Pakistan improved its score with the passage of time with eight points in 2014, two in 2016, and six in 2018 owing to new regulations for on-site physical protection”.

The NTI Nuclear Index looks at nuclear security conditions on a country-by-country basis in 176 countries. It is pertinent to point out that the same agency in its report for the year 2012 had said: “Pakistan’s nuclear material is among the least secure in the world after North Korea”. The acknowledgement regarding improvement in the security of Pakistan’s nuclear assets by the NTI is indeed a welcome endorsement of the safety of its nuclear weapons and its credentials as a responsible nuclear state.

It is pertinent to point out that even when the NTI expressed fears about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in 2012, some independent global think tanks acknowledged the measures taken by Pakistan to ensure safety. The EU Non-Proliferation Consortium, a European network of independent non-proliferation think tanks, in a paper published on Pakistan’s nuclear programme in July 2012 said, “In the past decade a robust set of institutions and procedures has been put in place, aimed at preventing the unauthorized use, theft or sale of nuclear and other WMD, related materials and related technology. There is no doubt that the Pakistan military has been taking nuclear and WMD security very seriously – first and foremost because it is in its own interest – and that it does so in a very professional way.”

The fact is that the US and its Western allies have been making efforts to dissuade Pakistan from pursuing the nuclear programme. Before Pakistan exhibited its nuclear prowess in response to Indian nuclear explosions, the US through the Pressler Amendment clamped sanctions against the country. It failed to acknowledge the security concerns of Pakistan which forced it to go nuclear. Immediately after the nuclear explosions by Pakistan, the US again imposed sanctions, and the focus of its propaganda shifted to the safety of the nuclear assets, notwithstanding the fact that Pakistan had established fool-proof security protocols and Command and Control structure in conformity with the international standards.

The reality is that Pakistan has been running a safe and secure nuclear programme over several decades. It has had the expertise, manpower and infrastructure to produce civil nuclear energy and has pursued a policy of restraint as well as credible minimum deterrence. Pakistan’s nuclear security regime is supported by five pillars – a strong command and control system, an integrated intelligence system, rigorous regulatory regime and active international cooperation.

Pakistan has also been regularly submitting reports to the UN Security Council 1540 committee on the measures that the country has put in place to exercise control over transfer of sensitive materials and technologies. It has successfully implemented IAEA-Pakistan nuclear security cooperation programme. Several projects have been successfully implemented for capacity enhancement in nuclear security.

Pakistan has also established a specially trained, highly skilled and well equipped force that is designed for nuclear security. Dedicated intelligence provides depth to the security architecture. Continuous threat appraisal and institutional reviews are conducted to upgrade response mechanisms. Pakistan’s export control regime is at par with the standards followed by the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG), Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Australia Group.

The regulatory regime encompasses all matters related to nuclear safety and security, including physical protection of materials and facilities, material control and accounting, transport security, prevention of illicit trafficking, border controls, and plans to deal with possible radiological emergencies through an elaborate Nuclear Emergency Management System (NEMS). International cooperation, consistent with its national policies and international obligations, helps Pakistan in the voluntary sharing of best practices and experiences in the security domain.

The apprehensions regarding terrorists or radical elements getting their hands on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are merely conjectures bereft of credible portents. Pakistan has zero tolerance against all manifestations of terrorism and has rendered unprecedented sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, more than any country in the world. Its security forces are in full control of the situation and are continuing the fight against the remnants of terrorist entities with full determination.

The role that Pakistan has played in defeating terrorism, its efforts at bilateral and multilateral forums to bring the Taliban and the US at the negotiating table and also clear the ground for the expected dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban is a ranting testimony of the fact that it takes the cause of the elimination of terrorism seriously.

Pakistan has been an ally of the US since the early fifties and, although the people and the government have sometimes felt dismayed over the discriminatory treatment against the country viz-a-viz India in the region, the sentiment has never boiled down to a radical disposition towards the West. It is also verifiable history that the people of Pakistan have never voted for radical and anti-West elements and all the governments whether military or civilian have maintained a friendly disposition towards the West, particularly the US. Even now, when the US and its allies have developed strategic cooperation with India which to some extent also works against our strategic regional interests, Pakistan remains committed to maintain cordial relations with them.

In view of the NTI report and the foregoing irrefutable realities it is about time that the US and its allies stop the propaganda against the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

The writer is a freelance contributor. Email: ashpak10@gmail.com