ISLAMABAD, 23 January 2003 — Pakistan yesterday announced it had upgraded the security of its nuclear facilities and employees, after a raft of press reports alleging leaks of its nuclear technology to North Korea and possibly Iran and Iraq.
The announcement came after President Pervez Musharraf chaired a meeting of the Development Control Committee of the National Command Authority (NCA) — which overseas the Islamic republic’s nuclear program — to review security.
The “physical protection and custodial controls” at Pakistan’s nuclear sites and facilities had been recently upgraded, an official military statement said.
“The NCA gave approval for further tightening of different defensive layers, enhancing physical security and ensuring the effectiveness of watertight safety of materials, equipment and technology,” the statement said.
Pakistan also announced that it would not practice a “tit-for-tat” scenario, following repeated missile-testing by India, as the nation’s missile program was guided by its own technical dynamics, and tests would be conducted whenever a technical validation was necessitated.
“The recent missile tests by India did not warrant a response,” said an ISPR announcement following a meeting of the Development Control Committee (DCC) of the National Command Authority (NCA). “Pakistan has no desire to increase tension in the region,” it stated.
The NCA also adopted steps to improve “personal reliability programs” for people working in nuclear-related programs.
Scientists, engineers and military officers working in nuclear programs are routinely screened every two years, according to a survey of Pakistan’s nuclear security by Italy’s Landau Network, an arms control institution.
Two Pakistani nuclear scientists were arrested 12 months ago and interrogated by FBI agents on suspicion of possible cooperation with the Taleban, underlining fears that nuclear technology could fall into the hands of extremists.
Pakistan has been developing a nuclear program to match arch-rival India’s since the 1970’s. It has a uranium enrichment plant and plutonium reprocessing plant close to the capital Islamabad and at least four nuclear reactors across the country.
The Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Japanese media have carried several reports quoting unnamed US officials saying that Pakistani scientists or military officers had sold North Korea uranium-enrichment technology for its nuclear program.
Islamabad has angrily rejected the reports as malicious and insisted its nuclear technology had never been sold or leaked. “Pakistan’s long-standing capability for achieving the highest levels of safety and security is adequate and fail-safe,” the military statement said.
Musharraf congratulated the scientists on their technical excellence, missionary zeal and success in developing indigenous deterrence capability and fortifying national defense.
