Islamabad - Experts have cautioned against a new international mechanism entangling the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) process and have stressed on International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to play the due role in managing the nuclear security issue.
Strategic Vision Institute, an Islamabad-based think tank specializing in nuclear issues, held a roundtable discussion to analyze the progress made by NSS process and to discuss the future of the initiative after the last Summit being held on March 31–April 1 in Washington. The experts further deliberated on the role played by Pakistan in the NSS process.
With the Nuclear Security Summit weeks away, discussions have focused on the future model of nuclear security cooperation.
The National Command Authority, which met earlier in the week, discussed Pakistan’s participation in the “final Nuclear Security Summit” and resolved to “continue to contribute meaningfully towards the global efforts to improve nuclear security and nuclear non-proliferation measures.”
Former Permanent Representative at the United Nations in Geneva Amb Zamir Akram, while chairing the session, recalled that the United States, ever since the process was initiated following President Obama’s speech in Prague in 2009, wanted to establish an internationally enforceable mechanism that could control nuclear security.
But, due to opposition from a number of countries to continuing the Summit process or coming up with successor initiative, he said, it is expected that the “follow-up action would be voluntary, at the national level and national responsibility.”
Pakistan should be concerned about the continuing talk in the United States about securing its (Pakistani) nuclear weapons and the danger of cyber attacks, Amb Akram advised.
About participation in NSS process, he said, it helped neutralize or balance out the efforts that could have specifically targeted Pakistan.
“We were particularly successful in emphasizing that the process has to be voluntary; should cover only civilian program; and that there should be no international mechanism involved in enforcing nuclear security order. It helped Pakistan highlight its achievements and the measures taken for greater security,” he added
Zahir Kazmi, Director at Strategic Plans Division’s Arms Control and Disarmament Branch, said: “There should be no parallel or new initiatives because IAEA has a central and leading role in taking forward NSS related commitments.”
He underscored that nuclear security was fundamentally a national responsibility. Therefore, Kazmi said, NSS commitments should remain political and voluntary in nature.
Analyst Nasir Hafeez said: “The outcomes (of upcoming Washington summit) were critical to the future of the global nuclear security system.”
President SVI Dr Zafar Iqbal Cheema praised Pakistan’s participation in the Nuclear Security Summits. In his assessment, Pakistan did not lose anything by joining these summits, rather managed to improve its image and interaction with international community.
Dr Cheema criticized the 2016 Nuclear Security Index by Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), which claims to work for global security by reducing the risk of use and preventing the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.
#He said the ranking was not compatible with Pakistan’s nuclear reality.
“IAEA has conceded that not an ounce of Pakistan’s fissile material is unaccounted, yet Pakistan has been placed lower in ranking, which is baseless,” he maintained.
The ranking, the SVI president said, ignores the efforts taken by Pakistan with regards to its weapon’s security and control measures; compliance to global norms; capacity to keep them safe; and their risk environments.