Rajiv Nayan’s work Published in ‘The Tribune’
January 30, 2012
Senior Research Associate, IDSA, Dr Rajiv Nayan’s article ‘Pakistan’s insecure N-assets – Global community must shed its inertia’, has been published in the leading daily ‘The Tribune’.
Excerpt
On January 1 this year, as part of their agreement, India and Pakistan exchanged the lists of their nuclear facilities — an annual exercise going on for some time. Before that, the two countries held a meeting to discuss conventional and nuclear confidence-building measures (CBMs). A section of the media reported that among other issues, the two neighbours discussed the possibility of cooperation on nuclear safety. This could be an issue for the countries which are running nuclear facilities, but for Pakistan, nuclear safety is a marginal issue.
What is the real nuclear issue in Pakistan? The real issue is the security of the Pakistani nuclear assets. These assets are in both military and civil nuclear energy sectors. The international community is talking about ‘fatwa for fissions’. The Pakistani nuclear establishment is expanding its arsenals. The plutonium route has seemingly been added to the existing enriched uranium route. Pakistan is adding facilities for reprocessing and spent fuel generation.
The increase of the Pakistani nuclear stockpile is making the international community anxious. Time and again, official statements from different countries come and reports of different academic centres underscore that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals are under danger. Some believe and express that Al-Qaida operatives may lay their hands on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.
