Smita Prakash

Home » Articles » 2010 » As summit gets underway, opinion builds on Pak rogue elements

As summit gets underway, opinion builds on Pak rogue elements

Washington, April 13, 2010 (ANI): Article after article from across the globe and think tanks around the world are expressing the opinion that if this nuclear security summit in Washington DC is about securing nuclear weapons so as to ensure that they do not find their way into the hands of non-state actors, then why isn’t Pakistan being hauled up.

A report by Harvard University's Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, titled Securing the Bomb, said Pakistan's stockpile "faces a greater threat from Islamic extremists seeking nuclear weapons than any other nuclear stockpile on earth".

The report also said that "despite extensive security measures, there is a very real possibility that sympathetic insiders might carry out or assist in a nuclear theft, or that a sophisticated outsider attack (possibly with insider help) could overwhelm the defences."

The Institute for Science and International Security has reported that Pakistan's second nuclear reactor, producing weapons-grade plutonium, shows signs of starting operations, and a third is under construction. Questions are being raised whether these sites are safe and free from pilferage.

Pakistani physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy didn't restrict his warning to just Pakistan, but warned that both India and Pakistan are building up their nuclear arsenals and are not taking adequate measures to protect their arsenals.

"Unfortunately, I do not see this concern either in Pakistan or India about nuclear terrorism," he said.

"Both countries do not see the seriousness of this situation," he adds. Pakistan has over 75 nuclear weapons by current estimates and is a tinderbox of terrorist groups. Yet, this is not on the summit's agenda.

President Obama pressed Prime Minister Gilani to end Pakistan's opposition to an international treaty that would ban the production of new fissile material for nuclear warheads, plutonium and highly enriched uranium (HEU), but the Pakistani leader showed no signs of such a move, US officials said.

"Islamabad has taken effective steps for nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation through extensive legislative, regulatory and administrative framework," said Gilani today to reporters in Washington D.C.

In November, the New Yorker's Seymour Hersh reported that the US administration is so concerned about the security of Pakistan's arsenal, that they have written up emergency plans to invade Pakistan and seize the nuclear material.

Matthew Bunn, the author of the Harvard report, said "Sustained White House leadership will be needed to overcome complacency and convince policymakers around the world to act."

"We need to hit the ground running in translating summit commitments into concrete actions," he said.

About me

I am the Editor News, at Asian News International (ANI), India's leading Multimedia News Agency and the India Correspondent for Channel News Asia, a Singapore based broadcaster.

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