Pakistan offers global nuclear fuel services

[rangbaaz]

read the part which i've underlined

 

[Jackdaws]

Reminds me of the famous words of a not-so-great man.

"Beware of the naked man who promises you his shirt!"
Navjot Sidhu

 

[rangbaaz]

im not surprised to see such posts from Indians
that's what their mindset is
be jealous as much as you people can from this news

 

[imran iqbal]

Pakistani Nukes are safe the world should stop scaring itself this is not a tom clancy novel! no guy is just going to go press a button & lead the world into the era of Book Of Eli or Resident Evil!

India should worry maybe even the naxals want a piece of bomb! or hey in russia the chechens might want one! you can scare yourself with a million scenarios! but the truth of the matter is all nukes around the world are safe!

From where does India comes in between ? As far as i can see,thread was opened by Pakistani and you can discuss your domestic issues. This thread should be an eye opener for Mr Omar, chest thumping everywhere how indians are obsessed with Pakistanis.

And no one in world gives jacksh1t about naxals because as opposed to non state actors, they are neither operating on foreign territory nor do they have any stated objective.

Pakistan nuclear arsenal is in good hands,the media needs to stop spreading propaganda.the real threat is the Indian nuclear reactors most of them are in the south west area,if the naxalites can kill 70 Indian troops in a few hours then they can surely make their way to those reactors.

South WEST area ? AFAIK, Naxals are present in Northern east. Yeah, ranting and whinning without substance, passing evil sick smile while you type can cause embarassing spanking in public.

Good Job PM Gillani.
I can't stop laughing on Indians they are discussing David Coleman Headly in Nuclear Summit and they are raising issues like why US vice president didnt invited Manmohan to his home.

Neither do Manmohan wants to waste time visiting US vice president. Your home must be running from there, not ours buddy!

Good job Pakistan! Just simply ignore some jealous Indians and keep up the solid move

Jealous, just because you barely trying to crawl your way through while clinching on your nukes ?

Believe me when i say so, India alone would be dismissed and laughed out if this whole fiasco of "Unsafe Pakistani nukes and proliferation" had our backing alone.You are barking up the wrong tree son

 

[desiman]

im not surprised to see such posts from Indians
that's what their mindset is
be jealous as much as you people can from this news

again jealous of what ?????? i fail to understand what we should be jealous of lol

 

[DaRk WaVe]

Pakistan also offers nuclear security skills to world​

WASHINGTON: In a policy paper presented to leaders from nearly 50 nations, Pakistan offered to share with other states its nuclear security skills, particularly in prevention, detection and response to illicit trafficking.

In a similar document, presented at the Washington nuclear security summit, which ended on Tuesday, Pakistan declared that it had acquired advanced nuclear fuel cycle capability and can offer it to the rest of the world under IAEA safeguards.

“Pakistan is ready to share with nations its competence in the area of nuclear security, particularly prevention, detection and response to illicit trafficking,” said the paper Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani presented at one of the sessions at the Washington summit earlier this week.

The same document contained two other equally significant points: nations need to cooperate with each other in acquiring reliable nuclear security and that India needed to work with Pakistan for protecting South Asia against a nuclear disaster.

“Of course, legally, nuclear security is a national responsibility. But nations do not act alone. They cooperate with each other to learn and to establish formal and informal networks,” said the clause dealing with international cooperation.

Another clause directed specifically at South Asia, noted: “Regional stability is important for nuclear security. We believe that Pakistan’s proposals on a Strategic Restraint Regime in South — with its three elements of nuclear and missile restraint, a balance in conventional forces, and conflict resolution — will go a long way in making our region secure and stable.”

The document reminds the world leaders that Pakistan had already concluded with India several CBMS. These include pre-notification of ballistic missile testing, establishment of a hotline, prevention of attacks on nuclear installations and facilities, and an agreement on reducing the risk of accidents relating to nuclear weapons.

“These efforts must continue. And our two nations — Pakistan and India — must continue to invest in a sustained and constructive dialogue.”

After sharing with the world leaders its ‘competence’ in the fields of nuclear security and fuel production, Pakistan reminds the rest of the world: “To meet its growing demand for energy for economic development, Pakistan plans to produce 8,800 Megawatts of nuclear energy by 2030.” But this would “constitute only 5.4 per cent of the total energy mix.”

The document then moves to the moot point: “We urge all relevant forums to take steps to enable Pakistan to access civil nuclear energy and technology, in a non-discriminatory manner, under IAEA safeguards.”

The entire document reflects Islamabad’s new confidence in promoting itself as a state not only capable of protecting its installations but also ready to offer services and goods to others.

In the process, Pakistan also got rid of the apologetic posture it had adopted since February 2004 when Dr A. Q. Khan confessed to running a proliferation ring.

DAWN.COM | Front Page | Pakistan also offers nuclear security skills to world

 

[DaRk WaVe]

Nuclear manoeuvres​

Occasionally, very occasionally, the military mind here hits upon a good idea. The offer to supply nuclear fuel cycle services under IAEA safeguards may be one of those ideas. Let’s begin with the science bit in this maze of scientific jargon and high-stakes international politics.

What Pakistan has offered is analogous to an oil-refining facility. If you have a generator and barrels of crude oil, you can’t very well pour the oil into the generator and flip the switch; you need petrol or diesel. So for countries looking to, say, set up a nuclear power plant — all the rage nowadays — Pakistan is offering to prepare the nuclear fuel that will power the plant which will produce electricity. That’s all we really need to know.

Why is this a good idea?

Pakistan is the bad boy of the nuclear world. Well, maybe not as bad as North Korea or Iran, but bad enough. Neither are we truly accepted as one of the members of the nuclear club nor are we trusted with the technology.

The reasons for this are varied. First and foremost, we screwed up: see A.Q. Khan. (Sure, there may be explanations and mitigating circumstances but we made our own bed.) Then we have loads of jihadis running around blowing up stuff (and themselves). We have an army which jealously guards its nukes but forgot to inoculate itself against its own progeny, the aforementioned jihadis.

We aren’t very stable politically. We, and let’s be honest, have lots of Muslims who are right-leaning and our leaders occasionally succumb to kooky ideas involving Pakistan punching above its weight. And all that comes before you enter the exotic realm of conspiracy theories.

So whatever Pakistan does, it just can’t cut a break on its nuclear programme. It is a stick used to beat Pakistan with whenever it gets a bit frisky and demands to play with the boys.

To see how it works we need go no further than Exhibit A, a Reuters story on their Indian website after Gilani made the surprise nuclear offer: “Pakistan, the country of the disgraced nuclear scientist who provided Iran, Libya and North Korea with uranium enrichment technology, is once again offering its atomic fuel services to the world.”

Not so subtle, is it? You have to click through to page 3 before you find this: “UN nuclear chief Yukiya Amano told reporters that there had been some improvements in nuclear security in Pakistan.”

Unsurprisingly, then, Pakistan has been desperate to change the subject, as it were, from our nuclear sins to our legitimate nuclear concerns. The army wants the subject changed because it is obsessed with India, but there is reason for others — Pakistanis who aren’t in the same camp as the army — to also hope they succeed in changing the subject.

Here’s how changing the subject may work: the offer to provide nuclear fuel services puts Pakistan in a category of law abiders rather than nuclear scofflaws. Well, maybe not exactly ‘law abiders’ but at least it creates space for us to escape from our perennial defensive crouch. In the world of diplomacy, having something new and original to say can nudge along a dialogue stuck on the same old hackneyed subjects.

Of course, the impact should not be overstated. The offer made headlines in Pakistan but barely registered in the international media (other than, predictably, India). What it does indicate, though, is that GHQ is indulging in a bit of creative thinking, a way out of the nuclear-pariah morass. This is new.

It’s unclear to what extent credit goes to Kayani for this, but it is noticeable that on his watch the army has become more forthright. We’ve seen it on India, Afghanistan and the Afghan-India connection. And now we’re seeing it with the nuclear programme.

Rather than begging for recognition and legitimacy, the nuclear establishment has, in making the nuclear fuel offer, acted like it already is a recognised and legitimate player. It is an interesting move, though the pay-off isn’t clear at this stage.

Hopefully someone will bite at Pakistan’s offer. And if it is a western country, then all the better. Here’s why. Keeping Pakistan on the defensive on all things nuclear means the army is on the defensive and in uber-suspicious mode. That leads to less-than-welcome outcomes.

Take the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT). Pakistan is playing the role of spoiler in negotiations for a treaty that will ban the production of fissile materials because we want existing stockpiles to also be taken into account (India has more than Pakistan presently).

But some long-time observers point to something else: India and Pakistan have comparable amounts of fissile material produced for weapons; the asymmetry only becomes significant if India’s stock of plutonium for its plutonium-fuelled breeder reactor programme is included.

This presents an opportunity: Pakistan could push for India to declare its breeder reactor programme as civilian, all but eliminating the disparity. But the army has rejected this route so far.

The memory of 1974 may have something to do with this: India’s ‘peaceful nuclear explosion’ was made possible by plutonium separated for its breeder reactor programme. Or it could be that Pakistan has already invested in expensive new nuclear production facilities and the nuclear-weapons complex here is out to protect its investment.

Either way, it is all but impossible to convince the army to push for more creative avenues towards an FMCT when the very legitimacy of the country’s nuclear programme is always under a cloud of suspicion.

Take another example. Ever since the US-Indo civil nuclear deal appeared on the horizon, the army here has been clamouring for one. But is a similar deal really economically viable for Pakistan? Nuclear power plants are expensive, very expensive. Where is Pakistan going to get all those billions of dollars from, assuming a deal is in fact possible?

And the cost-of-electricity calculations overlook aspects unique to nuclear power: safety and security. By the time the cost of proper safety measures and adequate security are factored in, the electricity generated could be more expensive than the already pricey thermal option we are trying to shift away from.

So why are we arguing for a similar deal? Partially because it will bestow our nuclear programme with a legitimacy it currently lacks. Political legitimacy at a steep economic cost is something the Indian economy can absorb, but can the same be said about Pakistan’s?

Yet none of these issues can be debated meaningfully as long as the army knows how the rest of the world regards its nuclear programme: as an unfortunate aberration that must either be tolerated for strategic reasons or defanged sooner than later.

Since the nuclear programme is in fact going to remain foundational to national security for the foreseeable future, even those here who don’t always agree with the army should be rooting for the latest gambit to pay off. A nuclear power at ease about the legitimacy of its programme in the eyes of the world is less likely to be reductionist and more amenable to sophisticated options.

Put another way, the army may be more reasonable if the world learns to treat its nuclear programme more reasonably.

DAWN.COM | Columnists | Nuclear manoeuvres

 

[asq]

Well, If you can be objective and let me know what is that you will disagree in my comment, that will be better instead of one lines.

It is spaculatiions, safe dilevry will be assured, your deduction about poliferations is spaculations at this point, all those who blame us have given their weapon grade uranium to other countires, I do not want to name those countries and u know who they are.

So stop and believe that our systems are fool proof and had been agreed upon in the world forum in Washington. Continuing old stories and ignoring new facts is a talk of an adversary.

Pakistan is in a much better position due to the 35 years experience and low labour costs, and will deliver the goods quicker, safer and cheaper.

 

[ice_man]

the problem is people are crazy to assume all "nuclear bombs" are kept ready and all you need to do is press the button and bang the world ends!

US has the term "BROKEN ARROW" which means these doomsday scenario have been thought of by all nuclear powers all over the world!

see this is not a TOM CLANCY novel! no terrorist can just walk up and press a button and bang we have nuclear war! nuclear weapons are always kept disassembled!

india just loves doing drama! but honestly i have to give it to them! INDIANS do so much drama and so much crying in the media it is a great propaganda! wish our country did even half of it as india!!

LOBBYING is israels major weapon and india is following israeli steps!

 

[TechLahore]

This is international perception and lets come down to reality.

Ramu, "international perception" is never so black and white. There is a very large group of countries - in fact a growing group - that does not tow the line you suggest. After all, China is one of the 5 permanent UNSC members and a key nuclear country and they are supporting our initiative. That counts for a hell of a lot. Similarly, there are a large number of "user" countries, for example UAE and Saudi Arabia to mention a couple, that could use these nuclear fuel services. Both have expressed recent interest in deriving energy from nuclear power plants.

Discriminating against any country so as to withhold access to technology is a very abhorrent and colonial practice. I don't think India or Indians should support such measures. We (both India and Pakistan) had our own indigenous capabilities destroyed by the British during their exploitative rule, and were then denied key technologies by the west so they could continue their exploitation post-partition. Look up how our (pre-partition India's) textile industry was systematically destroyed by the British through mass maimings. Or how they stole Tipu's weapons, forcibly prevented such technology from being used by the locals, while stealing it for their own use and reverse engineering. Even today, they force GM seeds down the throat of our poor farmers and claim patents on essentially sub continental products such as "Basmati" rice. I am 100% supportive of India gaining access to nuclear technology on the international market and would expect India to support a similar right to access for all other countries, including Pakistan. In this case, mutual animosity should not make us blind to the ulterior motives of an essentially colonial policy.

Now, as for the proliferation and "dirty bomb" type scenarios, they don't even apply here. Pakistan already has a nuclear stockpile, delivery mechanisms, fuel cycle capability, its own U mines, weaponization tech and several reactors. Nothing the NSG does will make an iota of difference in terms of either of these scenarios. If Pakistan were interested in proliferating these technologies at a governmental level, then that proliferation could occur sans its status as a nuclear fuel supplier or NSG participant.

I really don't see how supporting Pakistan in this arena is detrimental to India's cause or security in *any* way.

 

[srsrsr]

TechLahore - truly agree.

Personally, I believe every country has the right to pursue nuclear technology ( civilian ) and wish the world order is there to help those.

I see no point in crying over China(or Korea) transferring/helping with nuclear technology to Pakistan, as long as the intentions are correct (ie. either truly friendly in nature, which I doubt OR for business profits, both being OK).

In similar lines, nothing wrong in Pak offering fuel services, as long its primarily driven by "Business reasons". I see lots of post claiming this event as statement for "Pakistan responsible nuclear state" , which is in a way true. But I'm hoping that this event serves beyond such statements and truly Pakistan pursues its as a good Business Opportunity and executes it.

Note that all western countries are already eying on the business potential in nuclear business - including reactor construction, maintenance revenues, fuel supply etc and see emerging players as threat to their intentions.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Yes its great service but , we need to be part of system for power production oil will not last 40-50 years from now and countries need to change their fuel consumption , and become more solar driven

 

[ramu]

Ramu, "international perception" is never so black and white. There is a very large group of countries - in fact a growing group - that does not tow the line you suggest. After all, China is one of the 5 permanent UNSC members and a key nuclear country and they are supporting our initiative. That counts for a hell of a lot. Similarly, there are a large number of "user" countries, for example UAE and Saudi Arabia to mention a couple, that could use these nuclear fuel services. Both have expressed recent interest in deriving energy from nuclear power plants.

Discriminating against any country so as to withhold access to technology is a very abhorrent and colonial practice. I don't think India or Indians should support such measures. We (both India and Pakistan) had our own indigenous capabilities destroyed by the British during their exploitative rule, and were then denied key technologies by the west so they could continue their exploitation post-partition. Look up how our (pre-partition India's) textile industry was systematically destroyed by the British through mass maimings. Or how they stole Tipu's weapons, forcibly prevented such technology from being used by the locals, while stealing it for their own use and reverse engineering. Even today, they force GM seeds down the throat of our poor farmers and claim patents on essentially sub continental products such as "Basmati" rice. I am 100% supportive of India gaining access to nuclear technology on the international market and would expect India to support a similar right to access for all other countries, including Pakistan. In this case, mutual animosity should not make us blind to the ulterior motives of an essentially colonial policy.

Now, as for the proliferation and "dirty bomb" type scenarios, they don't even apply here. Pakistan already has a nuclear stockpile, delivery mechanisms, fuel cycle capability, its own U mines, weaponization tech and several reactors. Nothing the NSG does will make an iota of difference in terms of either of these scenarios. If Pakistan were interested in proliferating these technologies at a governmental level, then that proliferation could occur sans its status as a nuclear fuel supplier or NSG participant.

I really don't see how supporting Pakistan in this arena is detrimental to India's cause or security in *any* way.

Your post is correct to a large extent and I do agree about Pakistan's need for better technology and hunger for energy.

I am not against Pakistan getting access to the technology needed to generate Power but a line has to be drawn where the security of the world can be jeopardised because of clandestine networks. A separation between the defence and the civilian applications and the usage of nuclear technology should be clearly demonstrated by Pakistan. All the technology that is out in the market in such an area is dual use technology.

On one hand is the access to technology but on the other hand is the claim to provide global nuclear fuel cycle. These are two separate things. It is quite reasonable to say that the internal security is Pakistan is compromised to certain extent by the spate of attacks from various terrorist groups. The quantity of explosives seized after raids had a yield that could flatten a few kms. With this being the internal security situation, it is difficult to keep a straight face and propose a global nuclear fuel service. This is again just a small part of the risk to the global community. Also consider the risk in logistics and handling of fissile material between the service seeker and the provider ? What are the chances that things can go wrong here ? It is a great way to let the world know that Pak has the capacity to provide this service but the set of requirements that guide the complete activity is not feasible in the current day Pakistan atleast IMO.

I do appreciate your post for a balanced and logical treatment and coming out with a rational set of arguments. However, I do have some reservations about Pakistan becoming a global fuel service provider in the current scenario and WoT.

 

[asq]

ramu.

Again u r creating a scenario that has not and will not happen, we have proved to the world that our system is fool proof and yet u keep ignoring the latest facts and keep assuming by creating new scenarios.

About terrorism, why should Pakistan bear all the brunt and the cost when it was created by Russia's invation of Afghanistan. Let us be fair and go from their by helping us to rid of the manace and not dump on us by old and false scenarios that have been proved wrong and are false., If world does not act using wisdom it will be wolrd of caos and run by thugs, Mafia and terrorists. Pakistan has done much more than its share,
now it it is the duty of those who speak so loud and yet contrbute nothing to the cause taken by Gracious Pakistan alone.

So stop living in the past, and join us for new future and stop assuming things that has been proved wrong and do not apply anymore.

Hope that India will see the light and stop being adversary becuase the new reality will destroy us both if we continued on the path that we did in the past.