Security of Pakistani Nuclear Assets - Interview of Director, SPD Pakistani NCA

[ahussains]

So far they done a very nice job to secure the Nuke in a very short period of time just 9 years and many improvement are needed also any idea what other thing can be implemated also to secure such assets .

 

[blain2]

Keeping this thread as a sticky for reference purposes for those interested in understanding some of these issues, they can listen to no less than the Director Strategic Plans Division (SPD) within the National Command Authority, Air Commodore Khalid Benuri talk in depth about the perceptions, threats and what all that has been done to address the threats at the following:

PTV World News Website-Sci-Tech.

The more the content of this interview gets around the better in my own opinion.

 

[Neo]

Thanks for posting Blain, great interview!
Lets spread the link to every fora we visit.

 

[blain2]

Np Neo. I think the mis perceptions need to be addressed any which way possible. I thought this interview was a good way to get the official, credible word around.

 

[Neo]

Blain,

How can I get the archives of this programme? Last summer I recorded an interview with Tanveer Mahmood, I want to find the link.

 

[IceCold]

This link is however very good but you see when it comes to propaganda, the west simply ignores all facts and they can easily disrupt the facts of even this link into what suites them best. However i do agree we should post it to as many places as we can so that apart from the media, If a every day citizen do read articles likes these or watch links, perhaps it can help atleast bringing out a comparision of what the west is ranting all about and what the actual truth is.

 

[SABRE]

I'll say Mr. Banuri is the right man to listen to. Very talented person & his mind works like a machine.

 

[fatman17]

Jane's Defence Weekly - December 26, 2007

Pakistan allays nuclear fears as Babur is tested
Farhan Bokhari JDW Correspondent - Islamabad

Pakistan tested its 700 km-range Hatf 7 (Babur) cruise missile on 11 December with a renewed pledge to safeguard the country's nuclear programme.

Pakistan's nuclear programme has recently been at the centre of Western concerns over safety issues in the event of a political takeover of the country by hardline Islamists.

In a statement following the test, the Pakistani military said the Babur missile will "consolidate Pakistan's strategic capability and strengthen national security.

"The Babur, which has near-stealth capabilities, is a low-flying, terrain-hugging missile with high manoeuvrability, pinpoint accuracy and radar-avoidance features," the statement added, which gave no specific technical details of the missile except for its range. Previous tests of the Babur were conducted in March and July this year; the system was first test fired in 2005, when its range was 500 km.

However, the chairman of Pakistan's joint chiefs of staff, General Tariq Majid, criticised reports by "vested and hostile elements in the international media" about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

"Suggestions have been made that our assets could either be neutralised or taken away to a safer place to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands," Gen Majid was quoted as saying. "We remain alert to such threats and are fully capable of handling these."

Responding to Gen Majid's remarks, Western analysts in Islamabad said the Pakistani military appeared to be responding to suggestions that the United States will be pressed to destroy Pakistan's nuclear programme in the event that Islamists - who have been recently gaining political influence - ultimately seize power. "Will the Western world remain an idle spectator if the world's first Taliban-type government seizes control of a nuclear bomb? That is the question confronting many policymakers today," said one Western analyst in Islamabad, who declined to be named.

A Pakistani government official said the safety of the country's nuclear arsenal should not be in doubt as the country's military, with strong ties to the US, has taken close control of the nuclear programme since 2003. It was in that year that revelations surfaced over the role of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of Pakistan's nuclear programme, in trading nuclear expertise and technology with Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Pakistan is estimated to have at least 50 uranium-based nuclear warheads and up to 10 plutonium-based nuclear weapons. "The safeguards are tightly in place; there are no safety issues as far as further proliferation is concerned," said a senior Pakistani official.

© 2008 Jane's Information Group

 

[ahussains]

Why we always give them so much details about our nuclear assets its the matter of the country after some time if any US city Mayor says Pakistan's nukes are not safe then again we have to give him a details about the security messaures ..?

 

[Joodi]

It is very unfortunate that we have always been very apologetic about our nuclear program and assets. We are a nucelar power, atleast our government should behave like one and stop giving assurances about our nuclear assets.
They will never get satisfied no matter what ever we do. They do such propoganda on regular basis with a purpose. They can't digest our nuclear arsenal. we are the only muslim country having a nuclear capability both for military and peaceful purposes.

We should stop giving explanations and assurances to the other. Remember, when the dogs are barking, Let them do so.

 

[brilTek]

Capturing Pak Nukes Impossible, Officals claim

Tuesday, May 19, 2009
By Ansar Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military establishment and the Foreign Ministry confidently rule out the possibility of a capture of the country’s nuclear arsenal by US forces.

Contrary to the prevailing concerns about the serious threats looming over Islamabad’s nuclear programme, the military as well as the Foreign Ministry are pretty sure that the US administration and its military high command are well aware of Islamabad’s capabilities to defend its strategic assets and also know that that the nukes are in safe hands.

Though certain members of these establishments admit that the US is keenly pursuing the objective of denuclearising Pakistan, yet they acknowledge that this is not possible without Islamabadís cooperation.

Director-General ISPR Maj General Athar Abbas does see the Jewish and the Indian lobby behind the international propaganda unleashed against Pakistan’s nuclear programme. He, however, insisted that Washington knows that these are non-issues and that the Pakistan’s nuclear programme is secure. “They know this. They have acknowledged this,” Abbas said. He also strongly ruled out the capability of the US forces to capture Pakistan’s nuclear assets.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit, when contacted, said that those planning to get hold of “our nuclear arsenal” were not aware of Pakistan’s capabilities. ”This is simply impossible,” he said, adding that “our command and control system is second to none”.

The US media recently claimed that a US special squad, specifically trained to secure Pakistan’s nuclear assets, is in Afghanistan and waiting a green signal from President Obama to launch its operation inside Pakistan to complete the mission. Such reports are laughable for both the FO and the Pakistan Army.

A diplomatic source, however, is of the view that there is a turf war presently going on between the State Department under Obama administration and the Pentagon that is resulting into the pouring out of conflicting statements about the nuclear programme of Pakistan.

The source said that of late media hype was deliberately created on this issue by certain players in Washington to expedite the passage of the Kerry-Lugar Bill from the US Congress. It is said that after Pakistan went for nuclear tests in 1998, it entered into a strategic dialogue with the US, the EU and Japan and evolved a multi-layered command and control system to the satisfaction of the international community.

While the sources in the Foreign Office and the military establishment admit that pressure is being exerted on Islamabad on the issue of the nuclear programme to compel Pakistan to dance to the tunes of the US, a retired general said that America seeks joint control on Pakistan’s nuclear programme. However, the FO spokesman said it was out of question. Basit said that no such offer was made to Pakistan but if made at any stage, he assured, “It would be rejected completely.”

Source: Capturing Pak Nukes impossible, official claims

 

[viper`in`style]

Kenneth N. Luongo and Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Naeem Salik

Some correction about the author.He is Birg(Ret) Not Birg Gen because i know him he is my teacher.

 

[abbasniazi]

I am sure we have the zest and zeal to safeguard our assets and we have done that successfully for the last 25 years since we have the ability, now who the hell is US or anyone to ask for joint control of something they always tried to forbid us from? its ours and if we know how to establish it, i bet we know how to protect it also...

 

[Hulk]

I do not think anyone seriously think that pakistan's nuclear assets are not safe. The reason people raise this issue is to create media hype maybe for a future action. Like WMD in Iraq.

 

[MAB]

This article talks about how the U.S and U.K are confident that Pakistani nkes are safe

WASHINGTON: The United States took the lead on Sunday in assuring the world that the militant attack on the GHQ in Rawalpindi posed no threat to the Pakistani state which was not only capable of defending its nuclear weapons but also of defeating the terrorists.

The assurance, given first by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a joint news briefing with her British counterpart in London, was echoed by other prominent US politicians, lawmakers and military commanders.

Secretary Clinton said the extremists were ‘increasingly threatening the authority of the state, but we see no evidence that they are going to take over the state.’

She added: ‘We have confidence in the Pakistani government and military’s control over nuclear weapons.’

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband endorsed her, saying that Pakistan faced a ‘mortal threat,’ but there was no danger of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons being seized by terrorists.

‘I think it’s very important that alarmist talk is not allowed to gather pace,’ he said.

Yet, as the news of the attack on the GHQ reached Washington, it did cause an alarm, with experts urging the US government to look closely at Pakistan’s capability to protect its nuclear weapons.

But soon a retired US general, Tom McInerney, appeared on Fox News to assure the Americans that ‘the Pakistani army … is a very capable army.’ He, however, urged the Obama administration to encourage Pakistan to launch an attack on North and South Waziristan where, he said, Al Qaeda was hiding and using those areas for attacking other places in Pakistan.

Another retired US general, Jack Keane, emphasised the need to work with Pakistan to defeat the extremists. ‘We have to convince them that we’re there, that Pakistan’s stability is in our national interest. And we have to prove that, as well, by stabilising Afghanistan,’ he told ABC News.

The general conceded that ‘given our track record in Afghanistan and also in Pakistan, there’s reason for that scepticism’ and that’s why the previous and current Pakistani governments had ‘a hedging strategy with the Taliban.’

In CBS ‘Face the Nation,’ Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Saturday’s attack underscored the danger of the Taliban, not only in Afghanistan but in Pakistan as well.

‘We also know that Pakistan has nuclear weapons. The Taliban taking over a country like Pakistan would be completely and totally unacceptable, destabilising not only in that area of the world but all around,’ he warned.

Senator Diane Feinstein, another prominent Democrat, said the US could not allow the Taliban to take over Afghanistan because their next step would be in Pakistan ‘and that’s very serious.’

The Pakistanis, she noted, were beginning to ‘show their mettle … they seemed to have much more get-up-and-go, to really be able to work with us in securing Fata and other areas.’

Senator Saxby Chambliss, a Republican, warned that ‘if Afghanistan falls … the neighbouring country has the opportunity to be really invaded or encroached upon by bad guys.’

The programme’s coordinator, George Stephanopoulos, questioned the wisdom of putting Afghanistan before Pakistan, noting that ‘for every dollar we’re spending in Pakistan, we’re spending $30 in Afghanistan.’

In CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ show, Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate, noted the progress that the Pakistani military was making against the militants.

‘We, the Pakistani military, go in, we clear and we hold and we secure, and you Americans are using the wrong strategy,’ Mr McCain quoted Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as telling a think-tank in Washington last week.

‘I’ll tell you, I didn’t think I’d hear that some time ago,’ said Senator McCain.

Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat, noted that Al Qaeda and related groups in Fata could threaten Islamabad and ‘we’ve got to make sure that that threat is dealt with.’

Senator Jack Reed, a senior Democratic lawmaker, warned that the situation in Pakistan was extremely complicated.

And because of the Bush administration’s preoccupation with Iraq, ‘Al Qaeda has significantly reconstituted itself in Pakistan over the last several years,’ he said.

The United States, he said, not only needed to continue drone attacks but should also deploy counter-terrorism forces on the ground in Afghanistan.

‘And we also have to begin to work together with the Pakistani forces. And that’s a very delicate issue because they’re very sensitive of their sovereignty. They’re very sensitive of our presence in Pakistan,’ he added.

‘But lately they’ve shown because they’re, I think, generally fearful of their own situation, a willingness to cooperate more, to conduct operations in South Waziristan, to attack or allow drone operations in their airspace,’ he said.

‘That has to be continued. And so when the president (Obama) is making a judgment on Afghanistan, he literally has to understand its complications and its effects in Pakistan.’

I found this on dawn.com

LINK:DAWN.COM | World | No threat to Pakistan?s N-arsenal: US