Safeguarding critical assets: Govt to seek explanation over N-arms surveillance

Decision comes in response to leaked US intelligence budget report.


Kamran Yousaf September 06, 2013
The United States has intensified surveillance of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

ISLAMABAD:


Islamabad has decided to raise the issue of the recently leaked US classified report suggesting that American secret agencies had stepped up the surveillance of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme with Washington, The Express Tribune has learnt.


The decision was taken here on Thursday during a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA), which controls Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. The high-level meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by the three services chiefs and key federal ministers.

The meeting came just days after The Washington Post, citing a 178-page summary of the US intelligence community’s ‘black budget’, said the US had ramped up its surveillance of Pakistan’s nuclear arms, was concerned about biological and chemical arms sites in the country and trying to evaluate the loyalty of Pakistani counter-terrorism agents recruited by the CIA.

A senior official told The Express Tribune that the NCA voiced its concerns over the leaked report and decided to seek an explanation from Washington over the issue.

The government has already been in touch with US authorities over the controversy, said the official while requesting anonymity.

A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the NCA reposed full confidence in Pakistan’s ‘robust nuclear command and control structure’ and all the security controls related to strategic assets of the country.

The official release said the NCA reviewed developments at the regional level and reiterated that, as a responsible nuclear weapons state, Pakistan would continue to adhere to the policy of ‘credible minimum deterrence’ without entering into an arms race with any other country.

Pakistan, however, would not remain oblivious to the evolving security dynamics in South Asia and would maintain a full spectrum deterrence capability to deter all forms of aggression, it added.

The meeting also reviewed the developments at the international level and took note of the discriminatory trends and policies that could have serious implications for Pakistan’s national security and the global non-proliferation regime.

The NCA reiterated that while maintaining its principled position on various arms control and non-proliferation issues, Pakistan would continue to oppose any arrangement that is detrimental to its security and strategic interests.

As for the proposed Fissile Material (Cut-Off) Treaty, Pakistan’s position will be determined by its national security interests and the objectives of strategic stability in South Asia.

The meeting underscored Pakistan’s commitment to play its due part as a mainstream partner in the global non-proliferation regime, and renewed Pakistan’s keen interest in joining the multilateral export control regimes on non-discriminatory basis.

Pakistan has the requisite credentials for full access to civil nuclear technology for peaceful purposes to meet its growing energy needs for continued economic growth.

The meeting noted the importance of Pakistan’s positive outreach and enhanced engagement with all the multilateral export control regimes, including membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

The NCA emphasised that Pakistan will continue to participate constructively in the Nuclear Security Summit process.

As a responsible nuclear weapon  state, Pakistan is ready to share its expertise with other interested states by providing fuel cycle services under IAEA safeguards and by providing training placements at its Centers of Excellence on nuclear security, the statement said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6th, 2013.

COMMENTS (3)

Salma | 10 years ago | Reply

Nuclear materials and bombs in Pakistan are under tight control. There is a general agreement that no leak has ever been reported for any quantity (even grams) of Pakistani fissile materials. In fact no leak apparently happened. Again there appear to be a general consensus that all nuclear weapons are under strict control, or, to use a term used by Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, under "ironclad" control.

Rabia | 10 years ago | Reply

Pakistan does not manufacture or use chemical and biological weapons, but it still needs a contingency plan to counter attacks by such weapons on its soil. The country has signed and ratified the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and is a member in good standing of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Simultaneously, Pakistan has insisted that the trade of chemicals for peaceful uses should not be overly hindered by any treaty. As a confidence-building measure, Pakistan and India signed a Joint Declaration on the Complete Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 1992, undertaking not to develop, produce, acquire or use chemical weapons, and both countries signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993. However, upon ratification of the CWC in June 1997, India declared that it had conducted "testing and development of chemical weapons" for defensive purposes and that CWC-prohibited chemicals existed in certain military facilities. U.S. bio-defense programs, however, have raised concerns that the U.S. may be pursuing research that is outlawed by the BWC. According to a compliance report published by the Russian government in August 2010, the U.S. is undertaking research on Smallpox which is prohibited by the World Health Organization. The U.S. is also accused of undertaking BW research in order to improve defenses against bio-terror attacks which are “especially questionable from the standpoint of Article I of the BTWC.” The Guardian on Tuesday, 29 October 2002, reveals that the US is developing a new generation of weapons that undermine and possibly violate international treaties on biological and chemical warfare.

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