THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Uncalled-for remarks’ (Oct 16), which rightly pointed out that “even foreign officials and independent think tanks have endorsed Pakistan’s commitment to nuclear safety”. Take, for instance, the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) dossier, which, in spite of its hostile tenor, expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by Pakistan to safeguard its nuclear assets. The existing watertight security and safety mechanisms of Pakistan’s nuclear labs are not susceptible to political ebbs and flows, according to the IISS.

The dossier also sheds light on bomb espionage activities of several countries, including India, and talked positively about Pakistan’s efforts to keep a tight control over its nuclear security and safety mechanisms.

The dossier also noted that a new defence policy had been adopted in March 2004, which, it stressed, intended to “further strengthen institutionalisation of control of strategic assets”, and “turn all policies and decisions from an invisible secrecy into solid documentary form …”

It also made the observation that almost all the countries which have pursued nuclear weapons programmes had at some point obtained at least some of the necessary technologies, tools and materials from suppliers in other countries.

Even the United States, which detonated the first nuclear weapon in 1945, utilised refugees and other European scientists for the Manhattan Project and the subsequent development of its nascent nuclear arsenal.

The erstwhile Soviet Union, which first tested an atomic bomb in 1949, acquired its technological foundations through espionage. The United Kingdom (1952) received a technological boost through its involvement in the Manhattan Project. France (1960) discovered the secret solvent for plutonium reprocessing by combing through open-source American literature. China (1964) received extensive technical assistance from the Soviets.

From the dossier, one gets to know that Asher Karni, an Israeli businessman, and Alfred Hempel, an ex-Nazi who died in 1989, were the co-fathers of India’s ‘indigenous’ bombs. Hempel, a German nuclear entrepreneur, helped India overcome difficulties of heavy-water shortage by organising illicit delivery of a consignment of over 250 tonnes to India’s Madras-I reactor via China, Norway and the Soviet Union. The duo also arranged transfers to India of sensitive nuclear components.

The real danger emanates from the unresolved Kashmir dispute, a veritable nuclear tinderbox. John Thomson, in his article, Kashmir: the most dangerous place in the world, has analysed whether it is a myth or reality to perceive Kashmir as the most dangerous place in the world. One would do well to focus on what is surely a potential flashpoint rather than pointing unwarranted fingers at this nation or that.

Amjed Jaaved
Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2022