Pakistan dubs report of nuke vulnerability ‘pure fiction'

[VelocuR]

Pakistan dubs report of nuke vulnerability ‘pure fiction’

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad squarely dismissed allegations regarding the vulnerability of its nuclear arsenal, saying such reports are ‘pure fiction, baseless and motivated.’

An article published recently in an American journal, The Atlantic, said Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are vulnerable to theft by militants because the country has begun moving them around to hide them from US spy agencies.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua dismissed the contents of the article on Sunday and said “it is part of a deliberate propaganda campaign meant to mislead opinion.”

Surfacing of such campaigns is not something new for Islamabad, Janjua said. “It is orchestrated by quarters that are inimical to Pakistan.”

“No one should underestimate Pakistan’s will and capability to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests,” she added.

The article labelled Islamabad as “an ally from hell” and said that much of the world is anxious about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons because it is “an unstable and violent country located at the epicenter of global jihadism, and … has been the foremost supplier of nuclear technology to such rogue states as Iran and North Korea”.

A senior official in the Strategic Plans Divisions (SPD), the department charged with safeguarding Pakistan’s atomic weapons, said the national nuclear establishment is “very strong.”

Secrecy of the nuclear arsenal is ensured at every level, the official said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

“There is also a Strategic Export Control Division at Pakistan’s Foreign Office and an Oversight Board for this division is functioning,” the official said.

“Yet, all these efforts are sidelines by the international community in their passion for labelling Pakistan a dangerous nuclear state,” he added.

The article concluded: “The United States must, for its own security, keep watch over Pakistan’s nuclear program—and that’s more easily done if we remain engaged with the Pakistani government.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2011.

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For the stupid Atlantic article, the author is Jeff Goldberg.... more lies explanation and old fake pictures in the article.

Jeff Goldberg is a former Israeli prison guard and Israel firster. They see nukes behind every stone to not bring the safety of the Israelis nukes in question. Let us first find out whether Israel nukes are safe or not. These guys have strange notions too. They think nukes can be moved on Camel back and Pakistan only has camels for transportation system. I am surprised that instead of showing who is writing the article, the Pak FO defends itself from the absurd assertions. by Peter

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‘Nuclear assets to be secured at all costs’


ISLAMABAD: The Strategic Plans Division has assured that the country’s nuclear installations and assets will be safeguarded at all costs.

Addressing the passing out parade of newly-trained officials of the SPD, its director-general security Major General Muhammad Tahir said that the 700 new officials have completed their training to serve at the division.

According to an Inter-Services Public Relations press statement, he said that a powerful and independent force has been prepared to face all kinds of threats. He said that the newly-inducted members have completed a six-month training programme.

The SPD has already completed a comprehensive plan under which 8,000 people were inducted in the Nuclear Security Force.

Writers Jeffrey Goldberg and Marc Ambinder, for the US magazine The Atlantic, claimed that Pakistan is “an obvious place” for militants to seek nuclear weapons or materials because of a weak government and infiltration of its security forces by militant sympathisers.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2011.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Frontier Post :: Opinion :: Diabolical schemes about Pak nukes

Mohammad Jamil

A recent article captioned ‘The Ally From Hell’ published in Atlantic magazine of December 2011 about possible American plans to secure the country’s nuclear arsenal in the event of any extremist threat. Pakistan described it as ‘pure fiction, baseless and motivated’.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said: “No one should underestimate Pakistan’s will and capability to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests.” The Atlantic article details contingency plans involving hundreds of US commandos specially trained in securing weapons of mass destruction who would swoop in and disable or seize Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal in the event of the collapse of the state or a jihadist coup. The startling allegation is that Pakistani authorities transport assembled nuclear weapons in civilian vans without heavy security, moving in regular traffic to avoid being noticed.

What an absurd conjecture? Another concocted story was conversation between the COAS Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and General Qidwai regarding measures to be taken to counter American moves to neutralize Pak nukes.The authors Jeffrey Goldberg and Marc Ambinder said that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are vulnerable to theft by jihadists, compromising security in a country where numerous militant organisations of various stripes are believed to be headquartered. They referred to a few incidents to justify their conjectures and absurdities: “a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying workers to the Sargodha air base, which is believed to house nuclear weapons; the following month, a school bus was attacked outside Kamra air base, which may also serve as a nuclear storage site; in August 2008, Pakistani Taliban suicide bombers attacked the country’s main nuclear-weapons-assembly depot in Wah cantonment”.

Though, the US has many a time acknowledged that they do not have any clue about the storage of nukes, yet they try to make the world believe that above sites warehouse nukes. However, America and West’s concerns about and desire to neutralize Pakistani nukes are not new. Within 6 weeks after 9/11, David Albright had written a paper titled ‘Securing Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons Complex’. This paper was commissioned and sponsored by the Stanley Foundation for the 42nd Strategy for Peace Conference, Strategies for Regional Security (South Asia Working Group), from October 25-27, 2001, in Virginia. From the very first para, it is obvious that America has malicious intent about Pakistan’s nukes, which reads: “Fallout from Pakistan’s decision to cooperate with the United States following the September 11th terrorist attacks may severely test Pakistan’s security system throughout its nuclear weapons complex. Instability in Pakistan could make its nuclear weapons and stocks of nuclear explosive material dangerously vulnerable to theft”.

The US and the West have double standards, as in case of India, which faces insurgency in a dozen of its states that offer serious threat to the stability of the country, they do not see the gravity of the situation and never mention that Maoists, if succeed in bringing about a communist revolution, could one day control Indian nukes, and could pose palpable threat to India itself and the region at large. It has also been proved that in many cases of terrorists’ attacks, India accused Pakistan’s ISI for supporting the terrorists, but during investigations, it was proved that home-grown terrorists were involved.As regards safety of Pakistani nukes, the US and India have in the past eulogized the command and control system of Pakistan.

Two years ago, India’s National Security Advisor MK Narayanan in an interview with a foreign TV channel had said that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were safe adding: “It is extremely difficult for any outside element just walking away with a readymade nuclear device. It is not easy for just a couple of people to manage a nuclear device”. The US has been trying to get details of Pakistan’s nuclear programme on one pretext or another eg to help improve the security of the nukes, but our Foreign Office spokesman at least once during a weekly briefing had said: “The details of Pakistan’s nuclear programme were sacrosanct and could not be shared with any country”. It has to be mentioned that India had detonated atomic device in 1974 in violation of the agreement with Canada that fissile material will not be used for making atomic bomb. In May 1998, India had detonated five atomic devices, but the US or the West neither raised any alarm nor named it a Hindu bomb. But when Pakistan conducted atomic tests, they called it an Islamic bomb to justify their devilish designs against Pakistan nukes.

Already in 1979 when Pakistan’s nuclear programme was at its initial stages, then President and Chief of Army Staff General Zia ul Haq had told Air Force chief that he had reliable information on Indian plans to attack and destroy the Pakistani nuclear research facilities at Kahuta. Air Chief Marshal Shamim told General Zia that he may not able to stop Indian aircraft that could reach the area in 3 minutes; however the PAF would take 8 minutes for retaliatory strike on India’s Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay.

This was revealed by ACM M. Anwar Shamim, in his book “Cutting Edge PAF” launched in May 2007 in London. According to Shamim, Pakistan had warned India in the early 80s that an attack on nuclear assets in Kahuta would evoke a retaliatory strike on its Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay. Today Pakistan is a nuclear state; its nuclear assets scattered beyond the reach of American satellites and the CIA’s keen eyes and the delivery system to frustrate the designs of Pakistan’s enemies.

Members of the US administration, US army generals and international media have the habit of maligning Pakistan and creating unfounded fears and concern that the Taliban could take over Islamabad and as a consequence they would gain control of the nukes. There have been conjectures that Pak army can not defeat the Taliban fighters as it is not geared up and trained to fight guerilla warfare.

By further stretching their imagination they conclude that the Taliban could one day win, therefore the US was examining the possibility of gaining control of Pak nukes in case of such an eventuality. But this is fraught with dangers, as it could lead to Third World War. Robert Windrem, NBC News Investigating Producer for Special Projects’, in his article captioned ‘US prepares for worst-case scenario with Pakistan nukes’ had quoted Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy having stated: “By comparison the bin Laden operation involved only minor risks.

Even if a single Pakistani nuke (out of roughly 100) escapes destruction that last one could be unimaginably dangerous…The situation is more uncertain than even this. For one, it might trigger nuclear war with India, even if India was not involved in the snatch.”

 

[53fd]

US 'confident' in Pakistan nuke security:

WASHINGTON: The United States believes that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are in safe hands, a State Department spokesman said on Wednesday, rebutting an earlier report that Islamabad’s deadly atomic arsenal was vulnerable to theft.

Two US publications, The Atlantic and the National Journal, citing unnamed sources, last week said Pakistan had transported nuclear weapons in low-security vans on congested roads to hide them from US spy agencies.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters in Washington that the United States was not persuaded that safety had been compromised.

“We have confidence that the government of Pakistan is well aware of the range of potential threats to its nuclear arsenal and is accordingly giving very high priority to securing its nuclear weapons and materials effectively,” Toner told reporters.

“We continue to have confidence… that they’re taking appropriate steps,” he said.

Pakistan at the weekend rejected as “pure fiction” the report’s assertion that transporting the weapons in such a manner had made them more susceptible to theft by Islamist militants.

US ‘confident’ in Pakistan nuke security – The Express Tribune

---------- Post added at 04:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 AM ----------

The US & the Western media is involved in a vicious campaign against Pakistan, to malign the nation, but their ploy will not work.

 

[regular]

Yes! they will try try but will get tired in the end...Insha-Allah...

 

[VelocuR]

off topic

Pakistan to buy two nuclear power plants from China

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has planned to purchase two nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of 2,000 megawatts from China, which will be utilised for setting up Karachi Nuclear Power Plant-2 (Kanupp-2) and Kanupp-3 and help mitigate the energy crisis.

According to documents available with The Express Tribune, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) are likely to enter into an agreement to conduct a joint study to finalise design modifications, which would enable Pakistan to acquire two nuclear power plants, each having power generation capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

After completion of this project, a contract for establishing Kanupp-2 and Kanupp-3 will be negotiated.

The Planning Commission has said CNNC may be asked to grant intellectual property rights for the existing 1,000-megawatt plant and suggest steps which could help Pakistan avoid violation of property rights.

China has three state-owned corporations, which can own and operate nuclear power plants, including China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Company (CGNPC) and China Power Investment Corporation (CPIC).

CGNPC currently operates four nuclear power plants of 3,758 megawatts in China and also involved in 16 other projects having capacity of 25,000 megawatts, which are under construction. The company’s focus has been on three-loop 1,000-megawatt plants.

The Planning Commission also questioned whether PAEC had approached the three nuclear power plant developers in order to ensure fair competition in offering the plants. “Moreover comparison of intellectual property rights of other nuclear power plant vendors may also be brought out,” the commission said.

In an attempt to increase power generation capacity, the government focuses on developing nuclear energy on a relatively bigger scale. Accordingly, the Energy Security Action Plan has envisaged increasing the share of nuclear power by installing 8,800-megawatt nuclear power plants by 2030.

The import of nuclear power plants will lead to electricity generation at cheaper rates compared to the thermal source, contributing to tackling the power crisis. About a month ago, power shortages reached their peak at around 8,000 to 8,500 megawatts, forcing long hours of outages across the country.

The load-shedding has disrupted industrial activity, denting overall economic growth of the country, which stood at 2.4 per cent last fiscal year.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2011.

Come on, running up quickly for load-shedding issues!

 

[Imran Khan]

i think pakistan should ignore these funny news and work as in 90s

 

[Edevelop]

off topic

In an attempt to increase power generation capacity, the government focuses on developing nuclear energy on a relatively bigger scale. Accordingly, the Energy Security Action Plan has envisaged increasing the share of nuclear power by installing 8,800-megawatt nuclear power plants by 2030.

The import of nuclear power plants will lead to electricity generation at cheaper rates compared to the thermal source, contributing to tackling the power crisis. About a month ago, power shortages reached their peak at around 8,000 to 8,500 megawatts, forcing long hours of outages across the country.

The load-shedding has disrupted industrial activity, denting overall economic growth of the country, which stood at 2.4 per cent last fiscal year.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2011.

Come on, running up quickly for load-shedding issues!

If the damn government pays bill to WAPDA it is then only we can get all the electricity we need. Those govt officials who are wining should accept that reality. Anyways... why not just build or buy wind turbines and place them in areas like Baluchistan. That way we can save money and get get electricity for the time being.

 

[Malik Usman]

Its habbit of Eruopean and US media to give such kind of news once in month...........coz they need spicy stories to for their peoples.

 

[Nelson]

What else do you expect them to say

 

[Doctor09]

i think we should make a movie on media reports against Pak ...... it will be the funniest movie

 

[Donatello]

I would use the same word 'fiction' to describe the case of Pakistani Nukes ending up in wrong hands.

I mean, please quote a source which proves there was any danger of Pakistani Nukes going lost or in wrong hands, where as there are couple in the case of USAF. They should mind their own business.

Sometime i wish that B52 should've dropped the nuke it was carrying, just so Americans shut up.

 

[Najam Khan]

The structure of security dte(s) of SPD is getting bigger and bigger with passage of time. Having more trained people to fill in different levels of security is all what Pakistan need, the 'James Bond/Hollywood' style stories of sabotaging Nuclear program actually shows western author's mindset towards the capabilities and milestones that Pakistan has achieved in this program.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

i think we should make a movie on media reports against Pak ...... it will be the funniest movie

which one may be the 23rd james bond movie

 

[Abdussamad]

Someone needs to cash in on this. Sort of like that Afghani shop keeper who pretended to be a Taliban commander. Got paid damn well for it! Maybe we should double agents over offering (dis) information in exchange for $$.