The nuclear spectre

Possibility of a terrorist group obtaining a nuclear device is today one of the greatest threats to global security

President Obama chaired his last Nuclear Security Summit on April 1, and his concerns today are no less great than when he chaired his first six years ago. Indeed, concerns regarding nuclear security — or insecurity — have risen over the last six years rather than diminished. He delivered a terrible warning that “madmen” could kill or injure tens of thousands of people using a piece of plutonium no larger than an apple. The possibility of a terrorist group obtaining and then using a crude nuclear device, a ‘dirty bomb’ is today one of the greatest threats to global security. The meeting of 50 world leaders, including a delegation from Pakistan, considered not only the possibility of nuclear materials falling into the wrong hands but chemical weapons as well. The Islamic State has used chemical weapons, including mustard gas, in Syria and Iraq and is believed still to have stocks in the inventory, and al Qaeda continues to seek nuclear material. It is not only terrorist groups that give cause for concern. Some states and particularly North Korea are aggressively pursuing the building of a nuclear arsenal. There seems to be little that can be done to stop it achieving its goal and America and China have agreed to cooperate in the implementation of a sanctions regime in an attempt to at least limit North Korean nuclear expansion.

Pakistan is a member of the nuclear club, possessing both civil power-generation and nuclear weaponry, with more of both in the near to medium term. As Obama said, the most effective defence against nuclear terrorism is fully securing material in order that it is not accessible to terrorists, and Pakistan has a robust nuclear security regime in place, in part with the cooperation of the US. Historical concerns about nuclear security in Pakistan are today long past, and Pakistan today acts as a responsible custodian of its nuclear assets. That said, no state can afford to drop its guard in respect of nuclear security. The threat is very real and the terrorists determined and resourceful. Let us be safe now rather than sorry in the future.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th,  2016.

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