Pakistan eases fears by sharing nuclear secrets

By Farhan Bokhari

Pakistan's senior civil and military officials are sharing tightly held information about the country's nuclear arms programme with western countries in an effort to allay fears about the security of weapons in the face of a Taliban advance. The decision highlights global concerns about the safety of up to 100 atom bombs in Pakistan's possession, as the country tries to repel Taliban militants who advanced last week to within 100km of Islamabad. Pakistan is secretive about its nuclear programme, developed outside the non-proliferation treaty in an arms race with India. A senior western envoy in Islamabad said diplomats had been given assurances about the security in place for the weapons systems and also their distance from Taliban-held territory. Pakistani officials presented this as action to satisfy the west that its weapons would not fall into Taliban hands. "We have renewed our pledge to keep our nuclear weapons safe," said a Pakistani official. The briefings were meant to be "reassuring" to the international community in regard to safety measures. Last night, the Pakistani army said it had halted the latest Taliban incursion in the Buner district, 100km north-west of Islamabad, after two days of fighting. "We have successfully blocked Taliban advances and confined them just to a pocket," said Rehman Malik, the interior minister. The army has been accused in the west of failing to challenge the militants. Western diplomats said yesterday a Taliban advance on Islamabad threatened to bring them close to nuclear installations. They doubted the militants were capable of overwhelming heavily protected facilities. At the weekend, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, described the toppling of the Pakistani government and capture of nuclear weapons as "unthinkable". Western diplomats say the nuclear programme resides in a "ring-fenced" part of the military under the command of a well-respected general and protected from rogue elements within the army that might seek to capture a weapon. But although security improvements have been made, Pakistan has not complied with the high levels recommended to it. Security worries date back to 2004, when the proliferation network of Abdul Qadeer Khan, founder of the country's nuclear programme, came to light. One danger identified by the international community was that one of his scientists might help extremists to gain a "dirty bomb". Since then, the Pakistani military has tightened monitoring of individual scientists and has introduced new inventory systems in order to track the bomb components.

Posted in: Nuclear,Pakistan