This article is a response to the recent column published, titled as: “The prospect of nuclear jihad in South Asia” (Daily Times, October 3, 2013) by Musa Khan Jalalzai. In the article, the writer made several pronouncements about the nuclear safety, security and the current status of nuclear position, showing concern that nuclear arsenal may be used by non-state actors.
The article states, “The availability of nuclear materials in black market, specifically in Pakistan’s tribal regions, has put the country’s nuclear weapons facilities under threat. There is concern that TTP, Punjabi Taliban or its allies may possibly attack Pakistan’s nuclear facilities by detonating a small, crude nuclear weapon…” Pakistan has been active in improving the safety and security of its nuclear weapons in recent years. Facing international pressure over safety of its nuclear weapons, Pakistan has said it has taken steps to augment their security as it shares the concern that ‘non-state actors or terrorists’ may acquire and use them. Pakistan shares concerns that “non-state actors or terrorists may acquire and potentially use nuclear materials and cause serious economic, political and psychological consequences.”
We have demonstrated through our political commitment and actions the importance that we attach to nuclear security. We have engaged constructively inter alia with the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and the Nuclear Security Summit processes. A positive development following The Washington Post report was the statement of the State Department spokesperson, Jen Psaki, who said: “The US is confident that the government of Pakistan is well aware of its responsibilities and has secured its nuclear arsenal accordingly. While there is room for improvement in the security of any country’s nuclear programmes, Pakistan has a professional and dedicated security force that fully understands the importance of nuclear security.”
Earlier, George Perkovich of the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace had declared that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are the safest, most secure things in Pakistan.
Mr Jalalzai is of the view that “Nuclear power plants, research reactors and uranium enrichment plants of the country may, at any time come under potential attack from the TTP…”
This kind of current worry about Pakistan’s nuclear force stems from the aggressive advances of armed Taliban units. The official said, “Obviously, what’s going on enters into our thinking…We are watchful.” Pakistan felt compelled to respond publicly to those concerns by stating that the country’s atomic arsenal is beyond the grasp of Islamist militants. “We want to assure the world that the nuclear capability of Pakistan is under safe hands.”
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on April 25, 2013 declared the nuclear programme of Pakistan as safe and secure and appreciated the obvious dedication to safety and security of the regulators as well as operators. In fact, Pakistan has had an Action Plan in place to strengthen nuclear security since 2006, he added. Giving details he said this plan covers such items as Management of Radioactive Sources, Nuclear Security Emergency Coordination Centre (NuSECC), and Locating and Securing Orphan Radioactive Sources.
The writer argues, “After several incidents of terror attacks on Pakistan nuclear facilities (Wah, Kamra, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha) it became clear that the TTP and other extremist groups can gain access to nuclear facilities with the help of their radicalised allies in the armed forces…” Meanwhile, Pakistan is the 10th largest contributor to the Nuclear Security Fund, contributing $ 1.16 million. This is an example of their strong leadership and commitment, as well as their serious approach to nuclear security in the course of implementing the action plan. The attack last August against the Kamra military air base in Pakistan reignited concerns about the threat that terrorists could pose to the security of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal. There is no doubt that recent attacks on military targets in Pakistan have increased in number and boldness. So far, however, the targets of the attacks have not been military installations that contain nuclear weapons or components.
The Taliban attack in August 2012 on the Pakistani air force base at Kamra, northwest of Islamabad, made headlines in the international media and renewed concerns about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. Despite all this, the Kamra base does not have nuclear weapons. A Pakistani government spokesman denied that any nuclear weapons were stored at the base, and US military and diplomatic officials ruled out the possibility that the attack on the base posed any threat to nuclear weapons.
The author wrote, “Recent events in Pakistan and its war on terror, extrajudicial killings in Swat Valley and the killings of Pashtuns in Waziristan and FATA regions has seriously raised questions that now trained terrorists and extremist elements or their colleagues within the army may well resort to nuclear, biological, radiological or chemical weapons…” This is just a conspiracy theory hatched against Pakistan’s position on chemical and biological weapons. The custodians of the programme had established a Security Division, which today has more than 20,000 trained personnel to guard the arsenal. These trained soldiers are far superior to the terrorists. They are capable of guarding both nuclear weapons and sensitive nuclear facilities from the terrorist syndicate’s sabotage attempts and external powers’ incursions into the nuclear weapons locations. Our nuclear security regime is anchored in the principle of multilayered defence for the entire spectrum of any nuclear security threat — insider, outsider, and cyber threats — and is guided by the concept of the Five Ds, that is to deter, detect, delay, defend, and destroy.
Much has been written on the subject that the Pakistani military controls the nuclear weapons and has instituted a range of measures to tighten controls over the nuclear weapons complex. According to a wide variety of South Asian specialists, the military is the least corrupt and most professional part of Pakistani society. So, it is necessary to understand that neither terrorist networks nor any external power is capable of seizing its nuclear weapons.
The writer is a student of Defence and Strategic Studies and currently working as an independent researcher