Foreign Policy of Pakistan (1971 – to date)

Review of the article - I:

Pakistan’s nuclear weapons safety and security
By: Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal

Submitted to:
Ma’am Kusum Saba

Submitted by:
Hafsa Sattar
Reg # 59-FSS/BSPST/F18

Dated:
8th, May 2021

Department of History & Pakistan studies,

Faculty of Social Sciences,
International Islamic University, Islamabad.
 Article Review:
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons safety and security
By: Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal

Islamabad is very actively participating in international arrangements to prevent any nuclear

or radiological terrorism. For instance, Pakistan was among the first countries that submitted
a report to the UN to fulfill its obligations under the UNSCR 1540. Further, it joined the US-
sponsored Container Security Initiative (CSI) in March 2006. Pakistan participated in the two
summits and made significant contributions in supporting the global efforts towards nuclear
safety and security. Pakistan has been implementing a nuclear security action plan in
cooperation with the IAEA, which reinforces the physical protection of nuclear medical
centres and civilian nuclear plants. Pakistan has established nuclear security training centers
to act as a regional and international hub to train people.

Overall responsibility for the security of Pakistan’s civilian and military nuclear facilities lies
in the hands of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) of the National Command Authority
(NCA), the ultimate command and control body governing Pakistan’s nuclear sector. The
SPD has its own integrated security service, consisting of around 10,000 specially trained
personnel, which is under the control of a two-star general.16 There is, naturally enough,
close coordination with the strategic commands of the three wings of the armed forces, which
form another sub-unit of the NCA. Some facilities also have air defence arrangements in
place, with no-fly zones established over them. Fencing at all facilities has apparently been
recently upgraded, with electronic sensors and closed-circuit TV cameras also installed.

In February 2000, Pakistan announced the establishment of a National Command Authority

(NCA), with the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) as its permanent secretariat. The
responsibilities of the NCA include deploying and employing the nuclear force, coordinating
Pakistan’s strategic organizations, dealing with arms control and disarmament issues, and
overseeing implementation of export controls and the safety and security of nuclear
installations and materials. The SPD is responsible for the daily management of Pakistan’s
strategic assets, coordinating with all strategic organizations and overseeing the budgetary
and administrative aspects of these organizations. The primary responsibility of the services’
strategic force commands is to exercise technical, training, and administrative control over
the strategic delivery systems. Operational control, however, rests with the NCA.

The PNRA has set up the School for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, where it holds regular
courses, workshops, and tabletop exercises to train first responders in handling a radiation
emergency. It includes the customs service and other border control agencies. The PNRA
also has established a National Radiation Emergency Coordination Centre at its headquarters
in Islamabad and has put in place the national Nuclear Safety Action Plan to guide the
organizations acting as first responders to a nuclear or radiological emergency.

The Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences has introduced master’s degree-
level courses with a specialization in nuclear safety, mainly, to train new PNRA personnel.
Pakistan also has benefited from cooperation and exchanges of information on best practices
with friendly countries, including the United States, and has maintained a vibrant,
cooperative relationship with the IAEA.

Pakistan’s military appears to have worked hard to secure its nuclear weapons and materials.
But one cannot say how effective these efforts have been. Deep tensions within Pakistan exist
as Islamist militancy and ideology challenges the state and society at large, sharpening a
long-standing polarization in national identity and testing loyalties already torn between faith
and nation. Pakistan’s armed forces and civilian nuclear personnel are not immune to these
challenges, and this includes those who manage and guard the nuclear arsenal or run and
maintain the reactors. The ideological divide within Pakistan’s military, and more generally
within society at large, makes safeguarding its nuclear weapons and reactors much more
challenging than elsewhere.

In 2014, Pakistan moved upward by three points on the NTI index relative to 2012. This was
the largest improvement for any nuclear-armed state and was attributed to Pakistan taking
steps to update its nuclear security regulations and to implement nuclear security best
practices. Pakistan has taken its responsibility for nuclear security seriously. It has
collaborated with the United States on best practices, training, and personnel screening. It is
participating in international forums devoted to preventing nuclear terrorism and improving
nuclear security.

THE END