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How secure are Pakistan’s nuclear weapons?
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Pakistan’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Tariq Majid angrily rejected Tuesday a New Yorker Magazine report that raised fears of a militant seizure of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and suggested that the US had a hand in protecting the arsenal. The General went on to say that Pakistan did not need any foreign help in guarding its nuclear facilities because they were already well protected. There have been other reports about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons that we should consider.
In the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh wrote that US officials had negotiated pacts with Pakistan to provide security for the nuclear arsenal in extreme circumstances. His reporting was not supported by the US Embassy in Islamabad which said that ‘the United States has no intention to seize Pakistani nuclear weapons or material. ‘Pakistan is a key ally in our common effort to fight violent extremists and foster regional security.
In a separate report from Reuters in London concluded that: “Pakistan's nuclear installations are so well guarded that Islamist militants behind a wave of violence in the country's heartland would find it very hard to storm them and steal material for a nuclear bomb. But the sophistication of recent attacks and their proximity to Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure suggest this risk, while low, remains a cause for worry.”
Reportedly Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are secured in a myriad of different ways:
• Heavy conventional guarding,
• A blanket of secrecy,
• Deliberate deception,
• The separation of warheads from missiles
• Security practices adopted from the United States are all used to protect weapons and nuclear installations
• Intensive personnel profile vetting
• The warheads are not mated with aircraft and missile delivery systems.
• Possibly the separation of warheads from detonators.
• A rudimentary system to electronically lock the nuclear weapons
Given these extensive security measures one can appreciate Islamabad’s angry response:
We have operationalized a very effective nuclear security regime which incorporates very stringent custodial and access controls,’ Majid said, adding that: ‘As overall custodian of the development of our strategic program, I reiterate in very unambiguous terms that there is absolutely no question of sharing or allowing any foreign individual, entity or a state, any access to sensitive information about our nuclear assets. Also, our security apparatus has the capacity and is fully geared to meet all conceivable challenges, therefore we do not need to negotiate with any other country to physically augment our security forces, which in any case, we believe, are more capable than their forces.
In spite of the security and the Pakistani military’s angry response, the one scenario that worries some analysts is based upon the number of militant attacks in the vicinity of some of the nuclear facilities. They worry that the willingness to take high casualties to attack and penetrate a facility with fissionable materials could result in the terrorists being able to seize a warhead or material that they may not be able to make into a nuclear bomb, but when wrapped in a large amount of explosive could make a very dirty bomb that could contaminate large areas. Such a scenario would be a propaganda coup.
What are your thoughts? Should the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons be a cause for concern?
