Washington: Hours after a US study warned of
a "very real possibility" that deadly warheads could be stolen
by extremists singling out Pakistan as a likely source, Prime
Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said his country`s "nuclear
weapons are safe and well-guarded".
Trying to allay misgivings, Gilani said "Islamabad has
taken effective steps for nuclear safety, security and
nonproliferation through extensive legislative, regulatory and
administrative framework".
Harvard University released a study warning that four
terror groups -- al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Chechnya-based
separatists and Japanese extremist group Aum Shinnko, were
hunting for warheads.
The study, `Securing the Bomb` conducted by the Belfer
Centre of the University, and released today said that
al-Qaeda was in the hunt for nuclear weapons for the last 10
years and had twice attempted to buy fissile material in black
market.
It said Pakistan faces a greater threat from Islamic
extremists seeking nuclear weapons than any other country on
Earth. The new report from Harvard nonproliferation experts
found that Pakistan`s stockpile is the world`s least secure
from theft or attack.
The study compiled by experts in the University was
released as US President Barack Obama`s Nuclear Summit
convened in Washington and immediately raised the ire of
Pakistan`s Prime Minister.
On Sunday, the US President had also warned that al-Qaeda
continues to seek materials to build an atom bomb and is
banking on the current summit to help him reach his goal of
ensuring that all nuclear materials worldwide are secured
within four years.
Pakistan`s leaders insist their stockpiles are safe and
contend their country follows the regulations set by the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
"We are confident our system is second to none," said
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was also present at
his Prime Minister`s interaction with the media.
"We have world class measures in place," he claimed.
But the study, commissioned by the Nuclear Threat
Initiative found that Pakistan faces formidable risks in
safeguarding its nuclear warheads.
While acknowledging substantial security improvements in
the last few years, the study notes that the danger persists
from "nuclear insiders with extremist sympathies, al-Qaeda or
Taliban outsider attacks, and a weak state."
PTI
