As President Obama’s nuclear summit convened in Washington, Harvard University released a study warning of a “very real possibility” that deadly warheads could be stolen by Islamic extremists — and singled out Pakistan as a likely source.
That raised the ire of a Pakistani leader, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who was meeting with a small group of reporters Monday at Washington’s exclusive Four Seasons hotel. Pakistan is “a responsible nuclear state,” Gilani insisted when queried about the report.
Asked by a reporter if Pakistan would consider stopping the development of new weapons-grade nuclear material, Gilani would only say that the nation is “abiding by the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
The risk of a horrific terrorist act growing out of a failure by Pakistan to protect its nuclear material is one of the subplots driving the summit called by Obama this week.
Gilani confirmed that the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile was a prominent topic in his meeting with Obama on Sunday. The Pakistani leader said he assured his American counterpart that the world had nothing to fear from Pakistan’s stockpile of nuclear weapons.
But some experts disagree. The Harvard University study, conducted by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, was titled “Securing the Bomb.” It said Pakistan “faces a greater threat from Islamic extremists seeking nuclear weapons than any other nuclear stockpile on Earth.”
The study noted that, “Terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons, and the materials needed to make them are still housed in hundreds of buildings and bunkers in dozens of countries — many in urgent need of better security.” It documented 18 cases of “theft or loss of plutonium or highly enriched uranium.”
The timing of the study was inconvenient for Pakistan’s leaders. That nation is under scrutiny during the two-day summit, attended by leaders from 47 countries. Pakistan’s arsenal, which is believed by U.S. and European intelligence to consist of 70 to 90 nuclear weapons, is seen as a highly volatile commodity as Islamic extremism gains strength in South Asia.
On Sunday, Obama warned that al Qaeda continues to seek materials to build an atomic bomb.
“The greatest risks are in Pakistan, whose small and heavily guarded stockpile confronts immense threats from both insiders theft and outsider attack,” the Harvard study said. “Despite extensive security measures, there is a very real possibility that sympathetic insiders might carry out or assist in a nuclear theft, or that a sophisticated outsider attack [possibly with insider help] could overwhelm the defenses.”
Obama said on Sunday that the two-day summit would focus on finding measures to thwart any attempts by terrorist organizations to acquire nuclear weapons and emphasized that it is “the single biggest threat to U.S. security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who also attended the Monday gathering with reporters, said, “We are confident our system is second to none.” He emphasized that “There have been no incidents” in which the country’s nuclear weapons facilities have been breached.
Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Masood Khan, spoke in detail to reporters about Pakistan’s arsenal, saying that his nation has implemented a “three tier system” and a “stringent regulatory regime” to protect its arsenal. “We’ve been cooperating with the international community,” Khan said. “We’re confident our nuclear arsenal is safe.”
But those words have not alleviated the concern of many in the United States. They cite the case of Abdul Qadeer Khan as an example of the dangers of nuclear information from Pakistan landing in the wrong hands.
In 2003, Khan publicly admitted to being responsible for giving nuclear weapons technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Still, he is regarded as a hero in Pakistan to many for building the country’s first nuclear weapon.
When asked by a reporter why Pakistan has not allowed U.S. intelligence to question Khan and why he is still free, Gilani said, “He is not walking free.”
Khan is reportedly under liberal house arrest in Pakistan as he seeks his freedom in the nation’s courts.
“It’s difficult to say that Pakistan’s arsenal is completely safe,” said a U.S. official who asked for anonymity because of the nature of his work. “The case of A.Q. Khan is perfect example of what happened and what can happen in the future.”
