Pakistan's ''nuclear jewels'' safe: report

Islamabad, July 17 (UNI) A Pakistani nuclear safety expert has claimed that the country's ''nuclear crown jewels'' are safe in the hands of the army and cannot fall under the control of extremists or terrorists.

Lt Col Zafar Ali of Pakistan's Strategic Plans Division, who spent four months at the Stimson Centre in the US as a visiting fellow, said,''if the Chinese government could maintain control of its nuclear weapons during the Cultural Revolution, Pakistan's military can also maintain close watch and control over its nuclear crown jewels. The odds are still heavily in favour of the military maintaining strict command and control.'' In a paper, Col Ali wrote at the conclusion of his assignment, he said Pakistan haF a well structured command and control system and its export control law on sensitive material and technology was aligned with international standards and the non-proliferation regime, Daily Times reported.

He writes that the induction of new and sophisticated weapons in South Asia is destabilising as it could initiate an arms race.

''It is in Pakistan's interest to reduce asymmetry in conventional forces to keep the nuclear threshold high.'' Ali called the US-India civil nuclear deal an unhelpful development, since it creates an exception to non-proliferation rules and norms based on one country, rather than on specific criteria or energy needs.

Col Ali noted that over the past couple of years, there had been a renewed emphasis by Washington and some Western countries that nuclear weapons and materials in South Asia especially in Pakistan are vulnerable to terrorists' or extremists' control ,''a seemingly deliberate effort to undermine the credibility of Pakistan's command and control.'' He admitted that like any other country, Pakistan also faces terrorist threats from non-state actors or extremist groups operating in the region and beyond; however, the dangers to nuclear assets and materials are not as grave as perceived in the West.

Col Ali agreed that media reports on Dr AQ Khan's non-state network raised lingering suspicions, as a consequence overshadowing Pakistan's efforts to harness a coherent command and control system.

The security environment of the region and the innate opacity and lack of information about the Pakistani nuclear programme further provoke worries. Although Pakistan has put in place effective remedies to prevent the recurrence of past malpractice, no nation can be satisfied as improvement is a continuous phenomenon.

''The question arises as to why Pakistan is regarded as a suspect. There are three reasons: firstly, the legacy of AQ Khan's proliferation network; secondly, Pakistan's proximity to the region where Al Qaeda and Taliban remnants are located; and thirdly because of religious conservatism in Pakistani society,'' he said.

Pakistan's nuclear assets are under custodial control and weak links in management and oversight have been addressed to prevent the recurrence of any proliferation activity, Ali saids, adding while Al Qaeda and the Taliban have no direct bearing on Pakistan's nuclear assets, the threat from their affiliates and extremist groups is genuinely worrisome.

Nevertheless, instances of illicit trafficking of nuclear material and loss of control over nuclear assets in other countries should not be made a basis to raise suspicions over Pakistan's nuclear assets.

UNI