Long range Shaheen Missile

After the disastrous incidents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, world leaders started thinking of a nuclear-free world, however, this idea never materialized. The reason was the hypocrisy of United States of America, trying to have a complete hegemony over the nuclear weapons. Other world powers considered it threatening for them and hence resulted in the nuclear tests by the Soviet Union in 1949. Britain, France, and China followed them in later years.  Though the spread of nuclear weapons was a threat to world peace but was not a direct threat to the sovereignty of Pakistan.  When India tested its atomic bomb in 1974, it was hard for Pakistan to digest it and hence started its own nuclear program to reciprocate that.

In 1998, India came up with Pokhran-2 series tests, Pakistan responded with Chagai-1 and Chagai-2. This was the time when World start taking it very seriously because both of these were developing countries instead of the earlier countries who had advanced security systems. In 2001, America initiated its campaign against the so-called terrorism, which resulted in a tussle between Islamists and West. Pakistan being a neighbor of Afghanistan and having predominantly a conservative society was a worrying sign for the USA because Americans thought that public resentment can overthrow the government and the nuclear weapons can go into unsafe hands. Apart from this, Pak Army and ISI had once close relations with Afghan Taliban, through this prism Americans suspected that they can pass over some nuclear weapons to the Jihadis.

The DR.AQ Khan episode was another major setback for the Pakistan’s claim that its nuclear weapons are in safe hands. Furthermore, the political instability and terrorist attacks on sensitive security installations such as Kamra Airbase and GHQ raised fears among the international community. Another reason is that Pakistan is the sole atomic power of the Muslim and hence its atomic bomb was dubbed as “Islamic Bomb” which made headlines in the western media. However, most of these speculations are based on Indian-backed propaganda and international media’s rhetoric.
All these speculations can be immediately discarded keeping in view the command and control system that Pakistan has.

In 2001, the government of Pakistan announced the formation of National Command Authority. This authority comprises of Development Control Committee, Employment Control Committee, and Strategic Plans Division. The strategic plans division is the main component of security involved with the security of the nuclear weapons. Strategic plans division is headed by a two-star general with a highly sophisticated force of 20,000 personnel to protect the arsenal. In addition, the three services of the armed forces have their own strategic force commands as well. The persons who have secret information are kept under constant surveillance and even they didn’t know the location of all the weapons because these weapons are divided into different parts i-e bomb is kept somewhere and delivery system somewhere.

There is a complete and sophisticated system of electronic screening and closed-circuit cameras along with air defense system around the nuclear site. This site is considered as a no-fly zone and any suspicious plane has no chance to sneak in. Transportation of these materials is important and a heavy risky job, Pakistan has signed Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material in 2000 and has taken enough steps to protect the transfer of nuclear material.

Apart from these physical safeguards, a comprehensive accounting system has been put in place that keeps information of all the nuclear transported or of the persons related to the nuclear arsenal. Surprise visits are arranged to avoid any mismanagement at the site. In 2001, Pakistan established Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, an autonomous body under the umbrella of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, according to the guidelines of Convection of Nuclear safety that it has already signed. In 2004, Pakistani parliament passed an act called “the Export Control on Goods, Technologies, Material, and Equipment Related to Nuclear and Biological Weapons and their Delivery Systems Act” and in 2007, Pakistan established a Strategic Export Control Division (SECDIV) to avoid any export of this material.

Pakistan was also part of the nuclear security summit held in 2010 and 2012 to boost up the efforts for nuclear security. Pakistan has fully participated with IAEA as a responsible nuclear state and hence has taken enough measures that make its nuclear security second to none.