OUTLINE :
1. Introduction.
2. Efforts of the world to control nuclear proliferation.
3. History of Nuclear Program of Pakistan.
3. Factors responsible for apprehensions about nuclear security of Pakistan.
i) Incidence of 9/11
ii) Biasness of Western Media
iii) AQ Khan Factor
iv) Attacks on important military bases
v) Rising incidents of terrorism in Pakistan.
vi) Law and order issues and political instability of Pakistan
vii) Roots of Al-Qaida and Jihadi networks in Pakistan.
viii) Comments of Pakistani nuclear pessimists and media.
ix) Natural disasters in Pakistan.
4. Nuclear security system of Pakistan
i) National Command Authority (NCA)
ii) Security division.
iii) Personal reliability program.
iv) Physical protection of nuclear facilities
v) Transportation security
vi) Fissile material protection controls
vii) Export control regimes.
viii) International agreements to prevent nuclear terrorism.
ix) Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA)
x) Radiological source security.
xi) Nuclear plants stress tests.
xii) International cooperation and agreements.
5. How nuclear security system of Pakistan can be made more effective / Recommendations /How international concerns can be answered.
i) Terrorism control.
ii) Focus on Technological improvements and Research and Development.
iii) Economic, Political and Social stability and growth.
iv) Strong legislation regarding nuclear installations .
v) Strong borders
vi) Strictly following international resolutions
vii) Positive role of media regarding sensitive issue.
6. Conclusion
Nuclear Program of Pakistan:
Safety, Security and International Concerns
1. Introduction
Apprehension of nuclear proliferation and its terrorism has increased in the world especially after the incidents of 9/11 and nuclear disasters of Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear power plants. These incidents compelled the world to discuss safety and security of nuclear weapons on urgency basis. Although the nuclear program of Pakistan is in the safe hands, yet it has become a hot topic of discussion in the world because of the incidents of terrorism and political instability in Pakistan. The main apprehension of the world is that the nuclear program of Pakistan may come under the control of terrorists which will be dangerous for the entire world.
2. Efforts of the world to control nuclear proliferation :
There are various organizations which control nuclear proliferation in the world and the most prominent of them is the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). IAEA is responsible for the control of nuclear proliferation in the world.
Also a nuclear security summit was held in 2012 in Seoul in which 53 heads of states participated. In this summit, three main issues were discussed
1. Measure to combat threat of nuclear terrorism.
2. Protection of nuclear material and related facilities.
3. Prevention of illicit trafficking of nuclear material.
3. History of Nuclear Program of Pakistan :
After the episode of Dhaka Debacle in 1971, it was decided by the Pakistani government that is should have nuclear program for the security of the country. First practical step in this regard was taken by the then PM, ZA Bhutto in January 1972 when he gave the task of nuclear program of Pakistan to the PAEC Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan.
In 1974, India did her first successful atomic blasts experiments which were named 'Smiling Budha'. These experiments by India acted as catalysts for speeding up the process of development of nuclear program of Pakistan. So, to expedite the process, Dr AQ Khan was appointed the incharge of Kahota Project where the work on the nuclear program of Pakistan was being carried. The work continued and ultimately in May 1998, just two weeks after the successful second nuclear experiments by India, Pakistan did her first successful nuclear bomb experiment in Chagi on 28 May, 1998 and second successful experiment on 30 May, 1998 and thus became the seventh nuclear power of the world.
3. Factors responsible for apprehensions about nuclear security of Pakistan
Following are the main apprehensions of the world about the nuclear program of Pakistan.
i) Incidence of 9/11
After the horrible incidence of 9/11 in USA, the western world is quite apprehensive about the nuclear security of Pakistan. It will be extremely dangerous for the world if its nuclear program comes in the hands of terrorists.
ii) Biasness of Western Media
Western media, think tanks, newspapers, and officials always paint a dark picture of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. They almost always pose that nuclear weapons of Pakistan may fall in the hands of radicals, fundamentalists, jihadis, al-qaida, or talibans which will be detrimental to the survival of the world.
iii) AQ Khan Factor
AQ Khan (atomic scientist) of Pakistan is blamed for being directly involved in proliferation of nuclear technology and know-how to Iran and Korea. The west is also terrified that atomic bomb of Pakistan may not become the Islamic A-bomb.
iv) Attacks on important military bases
In the recent past, various incidents of terrorism have occurred in the much secured areas of Pakistan especially on army and air force bases. These include attacks on GHQ in 2009, PNS Mehran Base in 2011 and Kamrah Air Base in 2012. The major concern of the world in this regard is that if such secured places can become the target of terrorists attack, it is quite probable that nuclear program of Pakistan may also be attacked by the terrorists.
v) Rising incidents of terrorism in Pakistan
Terrorists' attacks in key cities of Pakistan like Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta have also increased which causes the international world to be apprehensive regarding the safety and security of nuclear weapons of Pakistan.
vi) Law and order issues and political instability of Pakistan
Poor law and order condition and political instability in Pakistan may lead to insurgency and civil war which may be harmful for the nuclear weapons of Pakistan and therefore are the causes of concern of the internal world regarding the safety of nuclear weapons of Pakistan
vii) Roots of Al-Qaida and Jihadi networks in Pakistan
It has also been blamed that the extremist networks including Al-Qaida may have links with some insiders of the nuclear program of Pakistan which may enable them to get access to the nuclear weapons.
viii) Comments of Pakistan nuclear pessimists and media
The propaganda of western media regarding nuclear security system of Pakistan is also coupled with the deliberate speeches of some Pakistani nuclear pessimists about the security of nuclear program of Pakistan.
For instance, in an interview with the Dawn, Perviaz Hood Bai said that jihadi networks are taking over the key nuclear installations to fulfill their political interests.
ix) Natural disasters in Pakistan
Pakistan is also situated in a geographical area where it is more prone to the threats of natural disasters like earthquakes and floods which may be detrimental to the security of nuclear installations and nuclear weapons of Pakistan. The world is quite apprehensive that if fool-proof measures are not taken to safeguard the nuclear installations against these threats then it will be not only harmful for Pakistan but also for the entire world.
4. Nuclear security system of Pakistan
Nuclear security system of Pakistan is in the safe hands like the nuclear security system of any other country. Because the NSS of Pakistan comes under various fool-proof controls, its proliferation is out of question. Followings are the main controls of NSS of Pakistan.
i) National Command Authority (NCA)
In February 2000, Pakistan National Security Council (NSA) established NCA, the epic civilian-led authority, to supervise the employment, deployment, research and development and command and control of nuclear program of Pakistan. NCA has taken various measures for the security and safety of nuclear program including its physical protection, control, vital infrastructure and legislation.
ii) Security division
Security division is the most important organ of strategic planning division. It is responsible for the security and protection of nuclear program of Pakistan. It comprises more than 20,000 highly trained security personnel to guard the nuclear program.
iii) Personal reliability program
The security clearance and screening process of all the individuals for the employment in all the strategic organizations has been further consolidated through the enhancements of personal reliability program.
Effective efforts have been made to break the insiders' links with the terrorist organizations. Any individual deputed in strategic task goes through multiple strategic security clearance which is almost similar to the security system of USA.
iv) Physical protection of nuclear facilities
Security division is solely responsible for the physical protection of nuclear installations. It has established a multi layer security system for this purpose. First layer encompasses security personnel of the respective organizations. In the second layer, specially trained forces operate on permanent basis in the inner perimeter and additional fencing is installed with closed circuit cameras and electronic sensors in the outer perimeter.
Apart from above mentioned security layers, air defense system is also established including the no fly zones.
v) Transportation security
Nuclear material and waste can become a potential target of terrorists when it is being transported. So, specialized vehicles and tamper-proof containers, which are escorted by military personnel, are provided for the safe transportation of nuclear material.
vi) Fissile material protection controls
Dr AQ Khan's nuclear proliferation saga has forced Pakistan to introduce strict measures for the protection of Fissile material. Today, strategic planning division (SPD) has adopted strict measures to conduct external audit on nuclear inventories on regular intervals and surprise inspections of all nuclear facilities on irregular intervals.
vii) Export control regimes
In 2001, Pakistan established a strategic export control division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It comprises officers from customs, foreign affairs, commerce, defense, FBR in addition to the officers from PNRA and SPD. It operates independently, so the personnel will not face any conflict of interests.
viii) International agreements to prevent nuclear terrorism
Pakistan has joined many international agreements to prevent nuclear terrorism. These include US-led CSI (container security initiative) and SFI (secured freight initiatives).
ix) Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA)
PNRA was established after the promulgation of PNRA Ordinance 2001. It is an independent organization which is responsible for regulating all the aspects of radiation and nuclear energy. It also regulates and supervises all the matters related to the nuclear safety and radiation protection.
PNRA, in coordination with the IAEA, also submits and evaluates reports in compliance with the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) Resolution 1540 which calls for national measures to prevent non-state actors from obtaining dangerous weapons.
x) Radiological source security
PNRA is also given the task to protect workers against accidental or malicious acts involving nuclear material and facilities. It continuously revises and updates safety and security measures according to guidance of IAEA.
Pakistan also participates in the IAEA 'Illicit Trafficking Database' to share information on incidents involving theft, loss, pilferage of radioactive material.
xi) Nuclear plants stress tests
After Fukushima power plant disaster, debate about safety of nuclear power plant gained new pace. So, Pakistan immediately carried out IAEA recommended stress tests on civilian nuclear power plants which were quite successful.
xii) International cooperation and agreements
Pakistan has signed a number of agreements with IAEA to show its commitment and level of cooperation. The most important agreement is Technical Cooperation' (TC). In addition, Pakistan is one of the top three countries who received assistance of two to three million dollars annually in terms of TC. Pakistan is also among the top countries who submitted reports in obligation under UNSCR 1540.
5. How nuclear security system of Pakistan can be made more effective / Recommendations / How international concerns can be answered
i) Terrorism control
Effective steps should be taken to get rid of the devil of terrorism. Most of the international concerns will be answered automatically if we are able to get rid of terrorism.
ii) Focus on Technological improvements and Research and Development
Technical competency should be enhanced for the security of nuclear system of Pakistan. It can be achieved by focusing on technological advancements through research and development, training programs and cooperation with other technologically advanced countries like China and USA.
iii) Economic, Political and Social stability and growth
Economic, political and social stability and growth will lead to the development of prosperous Pakistan resulting in healthy, wealthy and happy people. This will contribute not only to the safety and security of Pakistan but also to the safety of nuclear security system of Pakistan.
iv) Strong legislation regarding nuclear installations
Strong legislation should be introduced relating to the rights and duties of and rewards and punishments for those who are attached with the nuclear system of Pakistan. This will also contribute to the safety of nuclear system of Pakistan
v) Strong borders
Strong borders will help in keeping a check on foreign spies and invaders which will contribute to the security of nuclear system of Pakistan.
vi) Strictly following international resolutions
Pakistan should strictly follow the international resolutions regarding the safety and security of nuclear systems. This will create a positive image of Pakistan and will help in abating the international concerns.
vii) Positive role of media regarding sensitive issue
Media should play its role for building a positive image of Pakistan in the international world. It should also address and answer the concerns of the international world relating to the security of nuclear system of Pakistan by highlighting the steps taken by Pakistan to make its nuclear system safe and secure.
6. Conclusion
In spite of all the socio-politico-economic problems of Pakistan, its nuclear program is in safe control. It is impossible to breach this control. Pakistan has unearthed every stone to make its nuclear program safe and secure. Its security mechanism is so extensive that it can pre-empt and prevent any terrorist attack in future.
